SOY AMERICANA. SOY LATINA. SOY NEGRA.: AFRO-DOMINICAN AMERICAN IDENTITY IN THE U.S.

Abstract

Latinidad, or the idea of a shared solidarity among Latinxs of all ethnicities in the United States, is as diverse in reality as it is homogenized in mainstream culture. Under the wave of a fairly unidimensional representation of Latinxs lies a vibrant undercurrent of literature and media created by AfroLatinx scholars. “ AfroLatinx” 1 works to challenge the hegemony of Latinidad as a direct acknowledgment of the African diaspora and blackness. Even within the plethora of textual production on AfroLatinxs, there are gaps. Specifically, there appears to be a gap of stories of second and third generation AfroLatinxs who have always lived in the United States and grew up in largely white suburban areas. In an effort to address this gap, I will provide a history of race relations in the Dominican Republic to put my personal positioning in context and celebrate my first chance in academia to learn about my culture, as well as include my own personal narratives of interactions with race as a Dominican American in the United States. Within this thesis, I will challenge the completely unnecessary feeling of dueling I have felt between being black and Latina and explore why blackness and Latinidad should not be mutually exclusive.