National Hispanic Science Network

21st Annual NHSN Conference
September 22-24, 2021

The National Hispanic Science Network’s Twenty-First Annual Conference planning is underway. Check back for details.

Conference Registration | Annual Awards

A Call

I write this as one of the editors of El Faro. I recognize I have the privilege to have this space as a person in academia, as a lighter skinned Latinx, as a cisgender, as a U.S Citizen and many other privileges that I hold (but really don’t) because in reality my privileges increase or decrease based on the context and settings I move and live in. I wish I could say those beautiful words are mine but those are the words of Dr. Hector Y. Adames that have since then resonated with me.

The murders of too many Black and Afro-Latinx people by the police and other white supremacists is a wakeup call for many, however, this is not a wake-up call for Black people, this is their reality every day. I know my Black scholars and friends are frustrated and angered by people’s recent “wakefulness,” and rightfully so. As a Latina I am here to amplify the Black voices that have been silenced and ignored for far too long.

I call on my Latinx community to self-reflect on how the Latinx culture has deeply rooted us to teach us that lighter skin is
better, that to “mejorar la raza” (“better the race” ) is to marry white and lighter skinned people, that Black people are
dangerous, and so many other anti-Blackness.

I say this because within my own family I have heard all of the anti-Blackness and continue to hear it to this day. I call on my Latinx community to self-reflect on how we have ignored our Afro-Latinx people for far too long. I say this because I was not raised and educated on my Afro-Latinx brothers and sisters.

I call on my Latinx community to self-educate on the Anti-Blackness your country of origin has. I say this because I did not begin to learn my Black-Mexican history until 5 years ago and continue to work hard to learn about the Blackness in Mexico. I say this because I learned that Vicenete Guerrero, the 2nd president of Mexico, was Afro-Mexican and who formally abolished slavery on September 16, 1829. I say this because I did not know that José María Morelos y Pavón, a rebel leader who led the Mexican War of Independence movement was also Afro-Mexican and on the Mexican 50 peso (but whitened on the 50 peso). I say this because I did not know Gaspar Yanga, escaped from slavery and fought for slaves to be free in Mexico. I say this because I did not know that in 1617 Yanga, Mexico became the first free town from  slavery in the americas (in 1932 the town was officially named Yanga).

History has erased the Blackness in our own culture and literally whitened important Black historical portraits of leaders. It is up to us to learn our Black roots and unlearn Anti-Blackness so we learn from our history and to ensure we do not continue to perpetuate Anti-Blackness.

Sincerely your non-apologetic scholar,
Rubi Gonzales, M.A