10 Things To Know About What It Means To Be Afro-Latinx

Afro-Latinx pride, to the fullest!

I (and countless others) are both Black and Latinx...

Identity

If you were not aware, Latinx (o/a), by definition, is not a race. It's an ethnicity. So you can be a Black person from Alabama, a Black person from New York, a Black person from South Africa, or a Black person from Columbia. 

...which also means I celebrate two cultures. And THAT'S OK.

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I can have a Sweet Sixteen and a Quinceanera. I can celebrate Black History Month and also Hispanic Heritage Month. You'd be surprised at how many people can't wrap their heads around this concept. Or even worse, those who believe that we are culturally appropriating our own culture.

Speaking of, not all Latinas look like what Hollywood has set as the "example".

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We don't all look like Sofia Vergara or Selena Gomez. We come in all shades, tones, body types, and more. This is why it's been so refreshing to see Cardi B and Amara La Negra (among others like Mariah Carey and Mj Rodriguez) on the red carpet.

And we don't all speak Spanish.

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You may be thinking, "well, duh," but you'd be surprised at how people negate your identity simply because you may not have grown up speaking Spanish in your house.

Afro-Latinx identity is also not just an American "thing." We're all over the world.

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Did you know over half of the population in Brazil, which is in South America, identify as Black? We are all over the world, scattered in the Americas, the Caribbean, and Latin America. For example, there are Garifunas, the descendants of an Afro-indigenous population from the Caribbean island of St. Vincent. They were brutally exiled to the Honduran coast in the eighteenth century and moved to Belize.

Also, we're not all mixed...

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Some of us can be, but just because someone says they are Afro-Latina or Latino doesn't mean they are mixed racially.

Which means that we can have two Black parents and, yep, still be Latinx.

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You can have a Black father from the Dominican Republic and a Black mom from Honduras. Honey, you're Black!

Having these conversations isn't a call for divisiveness.

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Some people believe that simply calling yourself Afro-Latinx instead of just Latinx is divisive. It's not. It's celebrating our heritage and all the ingredients in our mixing pot.

BTW, these conversations are not new and, yes, there is still anti-Blackness within the culture.

Many of us have been holding these conversations our entire lives, but because there are more mainstream celebrities highlighting their Afro-Latinx identity, mainstream is picking up on the convo.

Also, nobody has to "prove" they are Black or Latinx enough.

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The whole "you're not _____ enough" conversations are so old. Nobody has to prove anything to you about their identity.

Any other Afro-Latinx people out there? Share some things you want others to know about your culture down in the comments below.

Join BuzzFeed as we celebrate Latinx Heritage Month from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, and explore more content celebrating la cultura.

Photo Credit: Charlotte Gomez / BuzzFeed