This post is dedicated to Luis Alfonzo Juarez.
Luis was a loving husband, father and grandfather who was described as living the American dream. He was the oldest person killed in the terrorist attack in El Paso this summer. When I think that his killer was someone who sat in a classroom in this country with that hate simmering in his heart, I remind myself that silence on issues of race brought us to this point. Speaking up and out about race is one way that I can help. So what does it look like to think about culture–specifically the cultures of North and South American indigenous and black people?
As someone who embraces both my Afro-Caribbean roots along with my identity as someone with Panamanian heritage, I’ve really ruminated on this idea of teaching these identities with authenticity.
Hispanic American Heritage celebrations are alive and well in many schools at this time of year. There are books featuring light skinned, Spanish speaking children, songs and videos of light skinned Spanish speaking folx, and references to the experiences of Spanish speaking folx that never reference indigenous or Afro-Caribbean voices in these spaces and experiences.
When we think about teaching ‘culture’ to kids. What exactly does that look like? What does it mean to use the word ‘Hispanic’ or ‘Latino’? As we dive into this thinking, how much of it is colored by colonialism? How much of it is imbued with the thoughts and perspectives of oppressors? With these thoughts in mind, I want to talk about a few action points for further consideration.
Engaging with one’s culture occurs on a daily basis. You do not forget who you are or where you have come from. So, teaching the history of different cultures should occur regularly. Not just during a specific focus month. This type of teaching is cultural tourism. Consider who that benefits.
Also, when teaching about North and South American cultures, consider what part of your time you are spending introducing students to the indigenous and Afro-Caribbean identities that have shaped events of the past and present. Consider the impact of colonization on both the indigenous communities and the African diaspora. Remember that in each of these first nations, the native populations have languages of their own and still use them today. Spanish may be the dominant language all across the Americas, but only because of colonization. Indigenous groups are hardly ever a focus of our cultural studies and there is so much misunderstanding of the culture and of the current success of indigenous groups. How often have we heard that the Tainos and the Arawaks did not survive the first wave of European contact? How is this true if there are Taino populations in Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic? Even Trinidad and Tobago have indigenous populations that have survived.
I have also been exploring my personal use of the terms Latin, Latinx, and Hispanic. Who do these terms describe? Do they encapsulate the fullness of my identity as a descendant of both indigenous peoples and Africans? Both terms were coined by colonizers. Is it possible that the broad use of these terms is another way to uphold white supremacy by suppressing our indigenous and/or Afro-Caribbean roots? This is a worthy question. Language as we study and then teach is vitally important. Making these connections personally and wrestling with the modern implications of colonization are an important step in our ability to guide children in their cultural studies. The experts on culture are the people who are part of the culture. Allowing your students to hear the reflections of the people you are studying, their passion for their own history and achievements is powerful.
One final point on this topic. I would be remiss if I didn’t also say, calling out anti-black racism in the the Latinx community is necessary. White privilege within our community exists, y’all. And white appearing, Eurocentric Latinos benefit and can oppress Black and indigenous members of the community. The narrative that we are all one big happy family within our community is flawed. We are not. Racism has nothing to do with the shared language we speak. You can consider yourself Hispanic and also be a racist. Our folx are not immune.
This post is from a blog post series on racism. If you would like to read some other posts related to race and its intersectionality with the classroom, click here.
Here are a few other resources that could be helpful to you as you consider this topic.