Double Racism: Am I Black Or Am I Latino?

Double Racism: Am I Black? Or Am I Latino?: A Double Identity. A Double Consciousness. A Double Minority. A Double Struggle

Am I Black? Or Am I Latino?
Are you neither Black nor Latino?
Are you both Black and Latino?
Is your name Jose? You ain't Black then. But, you ain't Latino either.

Eres Negro? O Eres Latino?
Tu no eres Negro ni Latino verda?
O Eres tu Negro y Latino?

Where are you from?

De donde eres?

You don't speak English. You ain't Black then.
You speak Spanish, but you ain't Latino either. What the hell are you?

No hablas Ingles entonces no eres Negro
Hablas Espanol verda, pero tu no eres Latino tampoco. Que Demonios sos vos?

If you ain't with us, you're against us.
Si no estas con nosotros, estas en contra nuestra gente

Four years ago, when I just came to the U.S. to live in South Central Los Angeles, where I observed a racial hatred and tension among Blacks and Latinos, these were things that people used to say and ask me. To me, it was obvious from my appearance. I could not give an answer for all those questions; especially since I did not speak English at all. Tonight, I am hoping to have a conversation with all of you!

12 years ago I was a 10 year-old boy in Honduras; I was walking with my mother Xiomara Centeno to Church. All of the sudden three (guys?) started calling names at us "hey Niggars!" "Hey Monkeys!"

I was not offended, but I was infuriated that they called my mother a nigga and a monkey. I took all the anger consumed in my heart not to show them hatred and kill them. Instead, I took all that anger and made a promise to myself that I would one day become an influential individual who will change people's minds and hearts.

My grandfather Santos Centeno is a well-known historian. One of his book it's titled "The History of Blacks in Latin America". According to the history:

"In Honduras and other Latin American countries, the Black populations in conjunction with indigenous people are part of the lowest economic and social strata. Historically, Blacks in Latin America are the most socio-economically disadvantaged since the time slaves were shipped during the time of conquest of the Americas. The Latin American regions were the first areas of the Americas to be populated by Blacks. In the following four centuries, thousands of immigrants from Africa were brought to the New World as slaves. Today, their descendants form significant groups in several Latin Americans countries, and they are the dominant element in many of the Caribbean nations. For many centuries, Black people have added their original contributions to their respective societies that influence on all facets of life in Latin America. Like the U.S, Latin American societies are also racialized, even if they have not developed a system of de jure discrimination (in other words discrimination based on law) such as Jim Crow up until the second half of the 20th century. Overall in Latin American, Whites and lighter-skinned individuals enjoy higher social status than their Blacks and danker-skinned counterparts, who are subjected to de facto racial prejudice and discrimination (in other words a form of discrimination based on beliefs and customs)

According to the United Nations and World Bank Institute, Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the world in terms of Gross Domestic Product per capita and average living standars. Blacks are the poorest people in Honduras; however, in the last thirty years the economy of Blacks has improved because of the support of their family members that have immigrated to the U.S. In fact, the U.S. has a great influence on the financial success and independence of Afro-Hondurans from their Honduran government, which has denied them economic freedom and individual rights because of the political corruption of the elites. BLACKS IN LATIN AMERICAN ARE SO MARGINALIZED THAT PEOPLE DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT WE EVEN EXIST."

Four years ago, my mother, my two younger brothers, and I came to South Central Los Angeles in search of the American Dream. My mother was looking for job to pay an apartment and provide us our basic needs including education, food, clothing, and health. My mother did not speak English at all, but she was very determined to apply for employment. Employers used to tell my mother: learn English or come back to where you came from.

My mother cried, but she continued looking for job with determination to take care of her three children. Then, she started looking for job for Spanish speakers. In less than one week, she got a call. And the manager said to her: Felicidades Xiomara usted tiene su trabajo como secretaria en nuestra oficina. Congratulations Xiomara you have been hired to work in our office. Come by later today to present your documents to start working for us. My mother was very excited and she went straight to the office. The manager said: Excuse me how may I help you? My mother replied: yo soy Xiomara y estoy aqui para trabajar. Well, we will give you a call later this week... They never called her again. It was evident that they did not hire her because she was Black.

My mother would come back crying to us saying she had been discriminated against for being a Black woman and rejected from other jobs because she didn't speak English.

She finally found work as a factory worker. She makes the federal minimum wage in our community South Central Los Angeles. She works very hard so that my two brothers and I can have the benefit of a good education. Mothers assure that their children achieve a better life. They are the foundation of most successful people.My mother instilled in me the value of education. She used to tell me; Jose estudia para una mejor calida de vida. Jose study hard and learn English for better opportunities and be a good role model for your younger brothers. So that's exactly what I did in order to make my mother proud and set up a good example for my two younger brothers.

"Hi my name is Jose." This was the first English sentence that I learned... That was four years ago. I remember the airplane flight from Honduras to the US - reading my first English sentence... "Hi my name is____" and I filled out the blank space with "Jose". I wanted to say this sentence to the person sitting next to me on the plane... But I felt insecure, not sure that I would speak clearly. I was afraid of that person's reaction to my lack of English proficiency. I established a lot of negativity in my mind and mental barriers by saying to myself: What if this person ignores me? What if this person doesn't understand me? Then, I said to myself: The solution to this is practice. I decided to practice "Hi my name is Jose" over and over again; it may seem simple to you, but if you've tried learning a foreign language, you may appreciate the difficulty of beginnings.

I used a media program called "Ingles sin Barreras" to improve my English. You may probably hear about it in Sabado Gigante and UNIVISION. People laugh at it sometimes saying "who would buy that", but to me it is very significant. WHEN YOU HAVE VERY LITTLE, YOU USE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE TO MAXIMIZE ITS POTENTIAL.

After 6 hours of practicing in my mind I finally gathered the courage to say these simple words: "Hi my name is Jose". This person started talking to me, even though I did not understand a single word being said regardless, I was satisfied that my first attempt had been successful. The next morning, I learned how to say "Good morning my mother, I love you" and I realized that I learned how to say it in less than five minutes. From the point, I built momentum.

My "American Dream" began with a library card, which was FREEEEE... I checked out books to learn English as a Second language. In less than one year, I earned my U.S. High School Diploma through an accelerated learning program. Then, I was able to attend a Los Angeles Southwest College, which is near home where I completed my coursework in Mathematics and Economics and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0 GPA.

All of the sudden, the harder I worked, the more I accomplished, and I was soon accepted to UCLA, which had been the University of My Dreams since I was a 10 year old soccer player in Honduras.

Next year I will be graduating with top Latin Honors-Summa Cum Laude, have been nominated for the "2006 Distinguished Outstanding Senior Award" and Bruin Senior of year 2007 at UCLA. Also, my name "Jose" has been placed in the National Dean's List.

Then, for the next two years I plan to obtain my Masters in Education with teaching credentials in Mathematics and Business/Economics related subjects and commit myself to Teach for America to make a positive impact on Black and Latino High School students in my community South Central Los Angeles. I HAVE A DREAM ROOTED IN MY HEART THAT ONE DAY, ALL CHILDREN IN THIS NATION WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTAIN AN EXCELLENT EDUCATION.

I will continue my higher education with a joint degree MBA and JD. I want to become a world-class leader, humanitarian, financial philanthropist, world peacemaker, and social entrepreneur and achieve "My American Dream" which I define as the ability to pursue happiness by helping people who are in need... here in the US and around the world.

Four years ago, I could not have a conversation with a person in an airplane; tonight I am somehow managing to speak to you (and hopefully you understand!). I am honored to represent the struggles millions of the poorest Black and Latino people here in the U.S. and Latin America. I realized also that I am here to represent all of you in the audience who face obstacles, but also all of you who succeed against adversity.

I have learned that we all human beings are equal and all we need to do is to find what we all have in common to achieve our goals. Something that we all have in common is that we all face adversity; that's why I am here tonight make a call to action to all of us to make an effort to live and harmony as brothers and sisters.

Therefore, I want you to join me to fight racism by showing love to our opponents who may become our best friends.

I want you to join me to eliminate sexism and homophobia by appreciating people' differences and allowing everyone pursue happiness.

I want you to join me to reduce poverty by helping those who are in need.

I want to leave you with this message that my mother wants me to share with you tonight

"No matter where you come from, it only matters where you are going. Follow your dreams, follow your passions; NEVER GIVE UP NEVER NEVER GIVE UP, never lose faith in yourself because at the end of the tunnel you will always see the light. Dreaming is just the first step of achieving your goals. Remember this; the most difficult step is just the beginning. THE MOST DIFFICULT STEP IS JUST THE BEGINNING. My beginning started four years ago when I waited for six hours to say to person sitting next to me on the plane 'Hi my name is Jose' "