Auto-Racism Begins at Home
Internalized Racism: The most detrimental obstacle to Hispanic progression is hidden where you least expect it
I was sitting at my grandma’s dining table on a Wednesday afternoon eating my dinner listening to the grown-ups talk. My grandma was excitedly sharing her thoughts on my newborn baby cousin to one of my aunts. In Spanish she said, “Esta bien bonita la bebita. Esta blanquita y tiene los ojos claros!” which translates to “That baby girl is beautiful. She has fair skin and light-colored eyes!”. As an 8-year-old dark-skinned, dark-eyed little Latina girl with black hair, I felt ugly based on the criteria set before me on that day. Little did I know how much this standard would affect my psyche for the rest of my growing years.
Sadly, it didn’t stop there. I heard the same types of comments from relatives from my paternal side of the family as well; always praising the more Caucasian-looking Hispanics while there was silence for the rest of us dark folks. I even heard one of my uncles advising his teenage daughter to marry a White man when she got older so they could “improve the race” through their offspring.
My sister was the lighter one between us, so I grew up feeling like the ugly duckling. I thought, “ok, if I’m ugly I’ll accept that and at least try fit the ‘smart one’ label.”
I was fortunate to have a dad who instilled in me the importance of education from a very early age. Despite being an immigrant and arriving in the United States not speaking a word of English, he worked hard and went on to school to become an engineer. His perseverance and work ethic were inspirational to me. He’d come home from work tired and hungry but after dinner, he’d spent time going over my homework with me. During my summer break months from school, he would assign math homework to me from workbooks he’d buy me (outside of my regular school curriculum), and I’d make sure it was complete by the time he got home.
But not all Hispanic kids were so lucky. Within my own extended family, I observed that my cousins did not have the same support. One of them aspired to be a lawyer and that dream quickly dissolved. Her parents discouraged her and suggested she pursue something more “realistic”. They may as well have told her “we don’t think you’re smart enough for that”.
As I got older, I started to realize this proactive dissuasion by Hispanic parents was very common.
I had Hispanic friends who shared they were ridiculed for wanting to pursue scientific degrees. Luckily, some of those kids refused to allow their surrounding negativity to hold them back. They went on to achieve their goals.
One thing is for Hispanics to think themselves inferior to Caucasians in the aspect of physical appearance, but the most destructive part of their mentality extends beyond that.
It crosses into believing the white race is superior in other more significant areas such as intellectual capacity, talent, the potential for success, and overall status.
The fact that I was the only Hispanic kid playing U.S.T.A. tennis tournaments among White and Asian kids and I was one of the few Hispanic engineers in my workplace, speaks volumes.
Some Hispanic parents project their own inferiority complex onto their children. The effects are life-altering to them. It halts their growth and potential. It creates children who are self-defeated; who limit themselves as a result of feeling intimidated by the domestically sown myth that White people are better.
This projection essentially destroys any viable chance of their kids developing their gifts so they can be significant contributors to society.
But isn’t that what racism truthfully is? The belief that one race is inferior to another? Racism is unacceptable period. But knowing some Hispanics believe this of their own race (‘Auto-Racism’), is the most disturbing part. They seem to believe our race is only destined for manual labor, rather than mainstream corporate America.
If our own people keep us down, how can we expect other races to expect more of our capacity? I strongly believe there’s a ton of hidden talent and intellectual aptitude among Hispanics, but it remains untapped as a result of this self-defeatist mindset.
The “White man” isn’t holding us back; our own people are.
Just as the problem originated at home, the solution also begins at home with parents. As second-generation Hispanic-Americans, we can’t change the mistakes of our antecedents, but we do hold the power to shift the direction of future generations.
We can preserve our Latino culture, all while choosing to teach our children the importance of education, working hard, and following through on their goals.
As second-generation parents, we can also choose to provide a nurturing and realistically positive environment in which we take notice of our children's talents and invest in them, allowing them to thrive with a healthy self-esteem.
It is our job to teach them they are not inferior or superior to any race, but they are valuable as they are, and their potential is great. It’s our duty to tell them they are in charge of paving their own paths. And it’s also up to us to ensure our children have a healthy physical self-image.
As for my physical low self-esteem, I later learned to embrace the beauty of my olive skin, dark features, and the ability to tan. There are various forms of beauty which should all be celebrated.
My hope is that the Hispanic mentality evolves; surpassing assimilation into a more progressive one that annihilates all ‘auto-racism’ liberating future generations from its oppression.
My intent for non-Hispanic readers is to bring about awareness of the hidden talent and potential that exists among our meek people. Despite being one of the most underrepresented groups in America, some of the most intelligent people I’ve known are Hispanic. We are more than the marginalized stereotypes. We have the intelligence and great potential to compete in mainstream America alongside everyone else.
