The Pew Research Center finds that in 2020, there were about 6 million Afro-Latino adults in the United States. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Afro-Latino identity is a distinct one, with deep roots in colonial Latin America. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The multiple dimensions of Latino identity reflect the long colonial history of Latin America, during which mixing occurred among indigenous Americans, White Europeans, Asians, and enslaved people from Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Afro-Latinos experiences are influenced by race, skin tone, in ways distinct from those of other Hispanics, including struggling with their Black identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only 18% of Afro-Latinos said they were Black in a national study, compared to 39 percent who identified as white. While almost a quarter said their race was \u201cHispanic\u201d \u2014 which is an ethnicity, not a race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Hispanic community holds colorist ties, causing Afro-Latinos to feel that they must favor their Latino instead of their Black roots in order to avoid prejudice, a common occurrence if they have a lighter complexion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michelle Bueno Vasquez, a Ph.D. candidate at Northwestern University studying political science and transnational Afro-Latino diaspora, was a guest on the program \u201c3 Questions With\u2026\u201d<\/a> hosted by Hugo Balta<\/a>, publisher of IL Latino News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n