I watched the program with great intensity because I have had an interest
in race relations in the Americas for many years now. Many Latin Americans
will assert that there is minimal racism in the Americas because they are
all mixed.They will also say that it is class that matters in the Americas
not raceI think that Gates point out that this is a myth.He did an
excellent job in depicting the survival of African cultural customs in the
Americas.
The issue that I see is that of "colorism" and "hair type" .This approach
in judging people by outward appearances can be defined as "social race"
and this is the prevailing racial paradigm in the Americas.
In the United States the "one drop " rule defines one's identity based
on genetic descent.I think the one drop rule has been a unifying factor
among blacks in the U.S so that despite the various shades of skin
color,hair types and physical appearances
U S blacks are constantly aware and are not in denial of their African
identity.
I am not aware of any significant black power unifying mpvement in the
Americas and there could be many reasons for this,such as a lack of black
history in the education curricula, blacks in the Americas being
bombarded with messages of the
non-existence of racism,and an obsession with Eurocentricism and
"blanqueamiento" as the ideal goals to emulate.
One of the solutions to achieve equity for blacks in the Americas is to
push for political,governmental,and institutional
representation on all aspects of public life.Only a Geographic
Representative Democracy government will give that assurance.
I think blacks in the Americas can learn many lessons from the black
American experience.Details will be in another post.
Michael J.Sylvester,PhD
Professor of Psychology
Daytona Beach,Florida
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