Erasure In Hollywood

Afro-Latinidad Resources for Black History Month

Defining "Afro-Latin@"

Afro-Latin@? What’s an Afro-Latin@? Who is an Afro-Latin@? The term befuddles us because we are accustomed to thinking of “Afro” and “Latin@” as distinct from each other and mutually exclusive: one is either Black or Latin@.

The short answer is that Afro-Latin@s belong to both groups. They are people of African descent in Mexico, Central and South America, and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, and by extension those of African descent in the United States whose origins are in Latin America and the Caribbean.

As straightforward as this definition would seem, the reality is that the term is not universally accepted and there is no consensus about what it means. The difficulties surrounding what we call ourselves reflect the complex histories of Africans and their descendants in the Americas.

Honoring Afro-Latinidad

Dezirae Brown

My name is Dezirae Brown, I am 25 and I am a Mexican and Black descendant. I graduated from EWU in 2017 with my B.A. in Psychology and I am apart of Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority Inc. I currently attend the University of Washington-Tacoma earning my Masters Degree in Social Work. I work for the Seattle Public Schools as a Special Education Instructional Assistant. I am also expecting my baby boy Giovanni in April!

Aléjandra Chávez

Age: 22 years old (Leo) Sorority: Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority Inc., Unstoppable Upsilon Gamma Chapter Connection to Eastern: My mother attended EWU while I was taking classes at Cheney High School. I was involved with Eastern’s music department and EWU’s Black Student Union while I was in high school.

Aléjandra Chávez

Age: 22 years old (Leo) Sorority: Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority Inc., Unstoppable Upsilon Gamma Chapter Connection to Eastern: My mother attended EWU while I was taking classes at Cheney High School. I was involved with Eastern’s music department and EWU’s Black Student Union while I was in high school.

About

Connection to Angel: We’re both sisters of the same sorority, and we both have the same position and class within our home entities (Nu Line Anchors hold it DOWN, iykyk)

Graduation Date: University of Washington, Class of 2020. B.A. in Political Science and B.A. in Spanish.

Personal statement: I self identify as bicultural and biracial because my mother is an unambiguously Black American and my father is a very white Mexican immigrant, now a permanent U.S. citizen. Whenever talking about my ethnicity/racial composition, when I tell someone that I’m an Afro-Latina or a Black Hispanic, and if I fail to explain that both the Afro and Latina in me do not come from the same “side”, most people assume I’m Dominican or Panamanian. Upon further investigation of that common response, I realized that assumption is generally based off my phenotype and the existing knowledge that those countries have large Black populations that heavily identify with Hispanic traditions and culture. I was primarily raised by my Black mother in predominantly white or latinX spaces and because of this, I was often the first or only Black person that many whites and latinX people had actually been exposed to in person that wasn’t someone on TV or social media. Even though most Latinx people I know suffer from discrimination in many of the same instances that Black people do, there is a double standard that allows light or white-skinned Latinx people and/or Latinx people with no accents to move into society with less issues because of their proximity to whiteness, as it is defined by American societal norms. To many Black people, they instantly recognize my racial ambiguity and either won’t agree with me identifying as Black because I’m mixed and can speak Spanish, which adds an element of exoticism because of how Blackness is defined in America. However, because I prefer to speak in English and I have obviously black physical traits, some Latinxs will question the validity of my Latinidad, but I understand that thinking only comes from ignorance and both a lack of exposure and understanding of how race, ethnicity and nationality actually work. Overall, I’m very proud to identify as both and feel like I have a unique understanding and critique of both communities.

Aléjandra Chávez

Nashua Miguel Clarke

Grandson of Dr. Shari Clarke. He is Afro-Latinx and fondly embraces both cultures. He is equally proud of his Puerto Rican heritage. An accelerated honor student Nashua loves math, gaming, coding, sports, and spending time with family.

Angel Telfair

I identify as a Black and Inupiaq Native with Mexican descent. My great-grandmother was Mexican and Native. I grew up speaking Spanglish when I was younger but lost it once I moved back to Alaska. I graduated from Eastern in 2020 and am now attending the Masters of Social Work program at Eastern.

Nidia Salena Ortiz-cotton

Nidia is a Puerto Rican and Black, junior at Eastern Washington university currently thinking about pursuing a career in either nursing or addiction studies. Regardless Nidia loves to care for people and build close relationships with them. She is training to be a medical technician at Cheney care center, where she loves all her residence and still makes them feel at home and taken care of.

Community Engagement

Chicana/o/x Studies has worked with the Hispanic Business & Professional Association in various pathways, we believe it’s essential to be connected to the community and keep updated on the needs of the population we serve.

HBPA Food Pantry

The need for food pantries increased tremendously during the COVID-19 pandemic, impacting the EWU students and Spokane Community. Working with the Office of Community Engagement, Brian Davenport was able to donate leftover food items from the Student Food Pantry at EWU to the Chicana/o/x Studies Program every Tuesday. In return, Dr. Nydia Martinez would deliver these boxes filled with food items to the HBPA Food Pantry in Spokane every week. Once this partnership was built, the HBPA interns would become the main person in charge to communicate between the EWU Office of Community Engagement and HBPA. The positive feedback we received from those who visit the HBPA food pantry was overwhelming. You can contact HBPA about the food pantry at hbpaspokane@gmail.com.

Bags of food items

HBPA volunteers at food pantry bags of jalapeños

Click to Watch the Video

Day of the Dead

Dr. Nydia Martinez, Director of Chicana/o/x Studies & Professor of History at Eastern Washington University, and Dr. Conrado Zepeda Pallares, professor of Spanish at Spokane Falls Community College, acted as hosts for the HBPA Day of the Dead celebration on Nov. 1, 2020.

Including EWU students signed up to volunteer giving out goodie bags, hygiene bags, and other tasks surrounding the event.

Past Events

The Chicana/o/x Studies Program (CHST) is partnering with Instituto De Intercambios Culturales Y Educativos De México (IICEM) to bring an Indigenous Chocolate Masterclass.

The IICEM is a non-profit Civil Association constituted with a goal to contribute to conservation, diffusion and development of the culture, crafts, uses, customs, music, dance, gastronomy, art, and the languages of the indigenous people of Mexico. The IICEM works with local Indigenous artisans to fund their small business through workshops, markets, classes, and much more. As the COVID-19 restrictions have risen in Mexico and the U.S., these artisans have lost access to finance and capital as rely on tourism and assistance from other universities to support their profession. The IICEM is collaborating with other organization to aid their community using an online presence in hopes of reaching a larger audience. Dr. Nydia A. Martinez, Director of the Chicana/o/x Studies Program has worked with IICEM in the past when planning the Oaxaca Study Abroad program for EWU students. The Chicana/o/x Studies Program wants to continue supporting this community partnership with IICEM and bring these ancestral experiences to the EWU community as part of the CHST Peer Mentoring Program.

Chocolate is an integral part of the Indigenous culture in Mexico and Indigenous artisans from Oaxaca, Mexico will be providing a Masterclass on making handmade chocolates. You can join this incredible opportunity on February 11, 2021 at 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM (PST) via YouTube LIVE.

Eric Anderson, Regional Manager at Sherwin Williams and Lucy Cardenas, EWU Alumni & Professional Coatings Representative, will be speaking about the opportunities Sherwin Williams offers such as internships, hands-on training, and much more. Great opportunity for Business Majors. We are excited to see them there, come join us!

Tuesday, November 10th, 2020
8:00 am – 9:30 am

EagleSync

Chicana/o/x Studies will be holding a discussion on identity and content creation hosted by Terry Blas!

Terry Blas is the illustrator and writer behind the ongoing web series Briar Hollow. His work has appeared on comic book covers for Bravest Warriors, Regular Show, The Amazing World of Gumball, Adventure Time, Rick and Morty, and The Legend of Bold Riley. As the host of The Gnerd Podcast, he runs a monthly pop culture examination show. His latest project with Oni Press is an original graphic novel, a murder mystery set at a fat camp, called Morbid Obesity, which he co-wrote. His auto-bio mini-comic, You Say Latino, was featured on NPR, OPB, Vox.com, and Cosmo.com. He recently completed the art for a new comic from Northwest Press: Mama Tits Saves the World.

Join us in welcoming comic artist and creator Terry Blas October 19th, 2020, at 12:00 – 1:30 PM!

You Say Latinx by Terry Blas

The Chicana/o/x Program is aiding to promoting the different presentations and events in partnership with the Spokane Public Library and other campus partners in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month (HHM). You can click here for the list of events.

Latin america flags surround the frame of a square

Media

Chicana/o/x Studies Program Takes Part in Hispanic Heritage Month

Latinas In Mariachi

Three Altars to observe while you are driving through. There will be goodie bags for the kids, traditional bread of the dead (pan de muerto), video production playing on our Facebook page with history, testimonials, and musical performances

November 1st, 2020
12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Virtual Event Virtual Drive-Thru

Virtual Live-Stream

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Welcome to the Chicana/o/x Studies Event Page!

Black History Month

Erasure In Hollywood

Defining "Afro-Latin@"

Honoring Afro-Latinidad

Dezirae Brown

Aléjandra Chávez

Nashua Miguel Clarke

Angel Telfair

Nidia Salena Ortiz-cotton

Community Engagement

HBPA Food Pantry

Click to Watch the Video

Day of the Dead

Past Events

Media

Latinas In Mariachi

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