What's Your Opinion: Should the United States Be Bilingual?

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I just read an interesting article over on Latina.com and wanted to get your opinions. Here is an excerpt:

"The latest Census results released last week tell us that 1 in 6 people in the U.S. is Latino, and that Latino kids number just over 17 million, or 23 percent of the 17-and-under U.S. population..."

“I just feel like there’s no excuse to not speak Spanish,” she (Odette Yustman) said. "It’s like Canada — they’ve got English and French — that’s what we need to do.”

"Odette tells us she also plans to pass down Spanish to her kids one day. “It’s important because living in the U.S. it’s so easy for kids to forget the language because you go to school and the kids speak English...“I was so fortunate because I learned Spanish first, so that was my first language....You just gotta carry that on, ya know?" (Click here to read the article in its entirety.)

I love Spanish. I learned to speak Spanish in school. I even majored in Romance Languages concentrating in Spanish as an undergrad. My husband was raised in South America and my son will hopefully be bilingual as well. All that being said, do I think we need to be officially blingual in this country? I don't know. I do know that many people feel the US is English speaking only and always should be.

So, after reading the article, this raises two questions in my mind:

1) Should all Americans learn Spanish, become bilingual and willingly adopt Spanish as our national language (in addition to English)?

and

2) Are you any less latino/a if you don't speak Spanish?

You may think this issue does not apply to you if you are not hispanic/latino(a) but I think A) if you live in the USA you are well aware of the growing Spanish-speaking population and B)whether it be race, gender, sexuality or HAIR, we can all relate to issues of identity and image. For example, question 2 could easily be replaced with "Are you any less Black if you don't wear your hair in its natural state" or some other like phrase.

So what do you all think?

Click here to read an older post about Black-Latino Identity.

Acting White

Image from racialicious.com

So I was reading this article about the phenomenon of acting white on Racialicious.com and it brought me right back to middle school! I remember growing up as a kid, all throughout elementary school, most of the people around me didn't look like me. That is to say, I went to a majority white, middle class school where there were only a handful of black kids. I never really gave it much thought in elementary school and we were all friends.

Then, I moved on to middle school and boy was I in for a surprise! Not only was the school bigger and more diverse, it was significantly populated with black students. It also had students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. I remember the shock to my system as slowly but surely I was singled out by my new black peers. I was one of only two kids in the advanced classes and I can just remember all the white kids trying to set us up together. It seemed so obvious to me that the only reason they thought we should be together was because of our similar hues.

But it wasn't until I moved to my second middle school that I can remember being accused of "acting white". I never really felt this coming from black guys, it was usually the girls that wanted to point out how I talked or dressed or who I hung out with. I became so self-conscious that I changed how I dressed and was very aware of how I talked. It was torture!

So, now that I am an adult and I work in the public schools, it is sad to see that this trend continues. It is disheartening to see black children feeling the need to prove their "blackness", however you are supposed to do that. It is even sadder what some kids think being black means.

Take a moment and check out the article then come back to share. What were your experiences growing up? Were you ever teased for "acting white"? Or, were you part of the crowd doing the teasing?! No worries, we won't judge here. I am just interested to hear about your experiences and how you dealt with them. Hit me back!

This is for the Transitioners....

Well... not just the transitioners. But the reason I say this is because a lot of people either on the fence about transitioning or already in the process still feel very unsure about what their natural hair will be like, look like, feel like, etc. If you have spent many years of your life using chemicals to alter your hair texture, it can be very scary to go from straight to curly, kinky, coily and nappy (all wonderful textures IMO!). It is so easy to go back to a relaxer or perm if you feel unattractive, unaccepted, rejected, or unprofessional. This key is all about getting to the "root" of the issue. I think understanding the history behind WHY we grew up thinking our hair was bad or unmanageable is key to self acceptance in the natural journey forward.

For me personally, I have been natural so long that I honestly cannot remember what my permed hair felt like. I went natural right out of HS so I have always ONLY had jobs with my natural hair. Any serious boyfriend/husband (brief stint with marriage, that's another post) I have had has only known me with natural hair. Even still, there are times when I feel intimidated to be out in public with my fro all huge. It is not easy to be the only person in the room whose hair stands straight up when others' hair lays down flat. I think it takes guts to walk down the street with your halo of fuzzy froliciousness!

Natural is a journey and not a destination. There will always be new things to learn about your hair. In the process, you learn a lot about yourself. You also learn a lot about the people in your life. I guess the bottom line is you have to be prepared to be different, stand out, get looks and stares from strangers. But that's ok. It builds confidence, especially if you are a person who is shy and does not like to be the center of attention.

Ok so I had not planned to write all this, just kinda got carried away...my bad!
What I really wanted to share with you is an article I just read by Djehuty Ma'at-Ra of DHerbs.com. It's pretty cool and addresses African American history, texture, products, hair science, self esteem, consumerism and more. It's long but I thought it was interesting to read, even after 10 years of being natural. I really think it is a positive piece for those interested in reshaping their thinking and that applies to anyone, no matter how long the journey. I DON'T AGREE WITH EVERYTHING HE SAYS but overall I like the main points.
So click here to get to the article.

Here are some highlights:

"Basically, without being made conscious of the texture of their hair as being some wicked curse stemming from the fictitious Biblical Ham character, or some mark of sin placed on Africans from God Almighty, or a defect on God's part while making the African, Africans/African-Americans would not have the hang-ups on their hair (and other facial characteristics and physical anomalies, e.g. dark skin, broad nose, thick and protruding lips, large posterior or butt) that many of them have today which has led to the exploitation of such sentiment with the creation of a hair care industry that reaps hundreds of millions of dollars that don't see any of that money returning to the communities where most Black women live in the form of beauty school scholarships and inner city beauty pageants."

"African hair is manageable depending upon our diet, how we feel about ourselves (including our hair) or self-image, and our thinking or thoughts. This is something I have discovered through personal experience."

"Black people (and every other race of people, for that matter) - ACCEPT YOUR OWN and BE YOURSELF! God made you perfect just the way you are. All you have to do is just take care of (maintain) what you have."

What do you think? Would this have helped you during your transition?

Not Christina too!!!!

I knew I should have just gone to bed. But no, I had to check out Latina.com and what did I find??? This atrocity. Why? When? Huh??? I don't even have the energy to go there tonight...

It's Not Just Hair...I LOVE this Vid

Thanks to Najahface on YouTube for creating this amazing, thought-provoking, and educating video on African hair. We all know that hair is not "just hair". If it were, why would there be hundreds of blogs dedicated to it or millions of dollars spent industry-wide to maintain and upkeep it? We know better. It is a simbol of our African heritage. A distinct and beautiful marker of our ties to the Motherland. It makes us proud and beautiful and unique and amazing. If you have not already seen it, check out this really cool hairstory lesson:

What the HELL happened to Lil Kim?????

So I almost feel silly for even posting about this but I am just a little shocked! What the hell has she done to herself???? Does no one else see this madness?!!! I always thought Lil Kim was a pretty girl, underneath the bad makeup and weave. But I guess she didn't think so. Wow. I'm almost speechless.

This picture is recent, it's her beside Derek Hough, her DWTS dance partner. I had seen some shots of her since she started this fiasco but this latest is just weird. It's like she wants to really LOOK white! Her skin looks soooo light in that photo and her nose is like, not her nose! I am surprised the hair is black and not blonde (or red or green or blue for that matter, but that's a different issue) but then again it looks like she's copy-cating the Kim Kardashian look. On the one hand, she's grown and can make her own decisions. On the other, what does this new "look" say about how she conceptualizes her beauty and how she presents it to the world? Is this an example of self-hatred (I have my own definitive opinion) or is this just another singer/"actress" who's had work to help her career? I feel sad for her, and for any young women who look up to her (although I don't know any by name, not a judgement just a truth) because of what this new image says. Wow. Aaagghhh!

Kim back in the day...

And it just gets weirder....



It almost makes me wonder, and maybe this is a stretch. So...this is what happenes when you mix black self-loathing with tons of excess cash. What would happen to regular black folks if one day we were all dropped a load of cash?? Would more "regular" people run out and 'fix' their noses, lighten their skin, or sew in miles and miles of long black hair??? Scary.

Black-Latino Identity

I used to be a Spanish teacher and one thing I always found interesting was how my students did not know that you could be Black and Latino/a at the same time. They did not know that there were any Black Mexicans or that some Puerto Ricans are as dark as some Africans. This is interesting considering that"In 1570, enslaved Africans outnumbered Spaniards in Mexico three to one, but were reduced to only 10 percent of the population by 1810. On the Caribbean islands, Blacks outnumbered Whites by as many as 23 to 1." Brazil, whose people are often depicted only as light-skinned with wavy hair, has the largest Black population(fascinating article about race in Brazil) outside of Africa. It is no wonder though since most images we see of Hispanic people are either the light skinned Ricky Martin & J.Lo types or the brown-skinned indigenous "Indian" types. While those are definitely accurate descriptions of many Hispanics, you rarely see dark brown men and women representing Latino beauty in the media.
I think about people like Sammy Sosa (Dominican Republic, baseball player), Celia Cruz(Cuban salsa singer) and Zoe Saldana (Dominican/Puerto Rican actress from NY), just to name a few, who are all Latino but to many Americans are just considered Black.


This is a complex issue for many dark skinned Latinos. Some call themselves Afro-Latino (or more specifically Afro-Cuban, Afro-Panamanian, or Afro-Puerto Rican, etc.), which clearly emphasizes their African heritage. Other call themselves both Black and Latino. Now on forms, there is a "Black (not of Hispanic origin)" box that you can check which I assume is to address this very issue. However, not all darker skinned Hispanic people like to be referred to as Black. For some, this may be an issue of not wanting to be lumped into the "Black" category which brings the burden of many negative stereotypes and disadvantages. For others, "Black" simply may not fully represent the full experience of who they feel they are. This is an excerpt of an interesting article talking about the identity issues that come with being Latino with African ancestry:

Interestingly, efforts to increase awareness regarding Afro-Latino culture and plight can be found on the campuses of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). At Howard University, Nadine Bascombe heads Cimarrones, a 50-member black student union of Caribbean, Central, and South Americans that recently expanded to include a chapter at Benedict College in South Carolina. Before Afro-Latinos can even begin to link the black-Hispanic communities, more Afro-Latinos must embrace their African heritage. "Within the population of what are considered Afro-Latinos, not all people identify with being black, so they'll join the Latino organizations because it's more of an assimilation of being white," says Bascombe, a junior. "It seems that if you relate yourself to being black it's something negative, so with that problem existing within the Afro-Latino population, not too many people run towards having an organization with that name."

This all came to me as I was looking at Latina.com and came across two beautiful Black Latina models. The first is Arlenis Sosa Peña who was discovered in the Dominican Republic.


The second is Sessilee Lopez, who is a self-described African-American fashion model (of Dominican and Portuguese decent), on the cover of Latina magazine. If you click the link it will take you to a letter to the editor written by a woman expressing her emotion over seeing a dark skinned Latina as the cover model.


I think no matter how you choose to label yourself, people will always go on what they see first. Unfortunately, there is still so much negativity surrounding what it means to be Black because of the history of stereotypes and under-representation (in a positive way) in the media. I think it's cool that we are beginning to see more and more people of color being represented in a positive light in our culture.

Clearly, there is no "one size fits all" descriptor for any ethnic or cultural group of people. This is a broad topic and many people have very strong opinions about it. So...do any of you consider yourselves to be Black and Latino/a? Do you know anyone who is? If so, what has been your experience with this identity? I only ask because I find it fascinating how we as Americans deal with the complexities of race (a social construct in my opinion), color and identity. What do you guys think?