Our communities need to collaborate together in order to work together towards equity and that starts with ourselves holding each other accountable for unconscious bias and racism in our families. Far too often, the Latino and Hispanic community remains silent on issues of racism towards the Black community. The melanin in our skin does not exempt us from internalized racism and it most certainly does not exempt us from speaking out against racism. But too often, we are silent.
In the work to achieve equity, inclusion, and justice, the first challenge is that within our own belief systems and family units. I am not the only one who has allowed mi abuelo to make racist remarks in the past and moved on without a word, but the danger of silence is too strong to keep doing so. Sometimes silence is easier, but that does not make it right.
So how do we do it? With passion, determination, and humility. Humility to know we won’t always know the right way to do something, but determination and commitment to learning how.
Find resources to guide you. Listen to the words and stories of our Black brothers and sisters. Pay attention to what they say and pay your educators for their expertise and energy. Elevate the voices of the Black community and share their work with your community. Donate to organizations fighting for justice on the front lines. Take your voice to the lawmakers. Call out racism when you see it. Stand in solidarity. We must remember that the Latino community is not only brown but also Black. We often forget of our Afro-Latinx brothers and sisters who suffer from these same systems.
Many of us come from families of immigrants, and have hopes of the “American Dream,” but we cannot achieve that if our Black brothers and sisters cannot achieve it also. Their struggle is our struggle and we cannot let them down now.
No mas silencio, mi gente.
Written by Jessica Godinez and Evelyn Arredondo Ramirez