For many, if not most, of the intended audience, accustomed to thinking of Latin Americans as simply a Spanish and Indian mix, Black in Latin America is nothing short of a revelation, the very title presenting us with two concepts not usually linked together. The series challenges this long-standing perceptual disconnect between blackness and Latinidad with facts and figures that firmly locate Africans and their descendants as pivotal actors in the history and culture of Latin America.

At the same time, the documentary is plagued by an apparent ambivalence as to just how “Black” Latin Americans and Caribbeans can really be. This interplay/volleying between affirmation and interrogation of blackness in Latin America is a running/ever-present/constant subtext that suggests the complexities of racial formations forged in different contexts but ultimately relies on unenlightening sound bites and tired clichés.

I was connected with Miriam Jiménez Román in May 2020 as part of my “Afro-Latinx Revolution: Puerto Rico” documentary project, but her book The Afro-Latin@ Reader sat on my shelf much longer. Those who know the pioneering scholar and activist’s work (recently profiled in The New Yorker) understand the significance of her book published in 2010, just a couple years after I graduated college. I had always been hungry for scholarship like hers and the centering of Blackness in Latino studies.

What makes the work of Miriam so profoundly unique is her ability to build bridges across academic traditions. Whether engaging with historiography, sociology, the arts, or archaeology, Miriam was a scholar who fearlessly delved into every facet of academia to unearth the stories of Black Latinos and to firmly center Blackness in her work and in the world.

A testament to this legacy is her enduring collaboration with the incredible Dr. Johanna Fernández. As a prominent Black Latina academic and radio host, Dr. Fernández interviewed Miriam on several occasions. Together, they explored critical topics, including the history of the Young Lords, a movement Miriam witnessed firsthand while living in East Harlem. Through these conversations, she offered a nuanced, multifaceted perspective on the legacy of the Young Lords, applying both a critical and an appreciative lens to their role in our society.

Miriam was more of a tía to me than the one I was related to by blood. It wasn’t necessary because of the quantity of time we spent together, but, like anyone of us who realize we share a soul with someone else, it was because of spirit — alma y corazón.

Miri was an uptown kid, like me, but she was of my parent’s generation. When I met Juan in college and our relationship evolved from student/professor to friends to something closer to familiares, it took me little time to realize how Miri was Juan’s intellectual and “spiritual” (in the way that your spirit keeps you alive) rock. They were each other’s rock. Miri had serious spirit. Miri saw no reason to mince her words. And if Miri cared for you even a little bit, she’d fry you. 

What would have made Miriam incredibly proud is that the figures were chosen by the two schools who collaborated on the murals themselves. The principals of the schools chose the theme, while the students and teachers selected the icons who would grace the facade. The creation process was as impactful as the final image, especially considering that for many students, this project was their first real exposure to the arts.

March 30, 2012 - In February, Latina magazine listed “6 Afro-Latinas Who Are Changing the World.” Naturally, Miriam Jiménez Román was second on the list.

It’s June 11th, your birthday, and I can imagine myself ending a long subway ride at the Atlantic Station, still wrestling with which ofrenda to bring you, or better said: which would least frustrate you. El biscochito you love pero hecho por “el presentao,” whose bakery you vowed to never patron again, or pick up another pinot? I know this to be your favorite wine though you never drink a drop of my selections.

To understand the implications of the people of Yanga--and of Cuajinicuilapa, El Ciruelo, Corralero, and other like communities--we must go beyond physical appearance, cease determining the extent of Africa's influence simply by how much one "looks" African, and go forward to critically examine what indeed is Mexico and who are the Mexicans. So, yes, there are black people in Mexico.

Personally, I find guidance in her words from that same speech: "A lot of the work we have to do is about retraining ourselves, changing the parameters of how we think about things so that we don't accept what they taught us.”

March 5th, 2026, the People’s Forum hosted Alain Martin at the Paul and Eslanda Robeson Cinema. Film description: Through a letter to his grandfather, a Haitian filmmaker revisits the U.S. occupation of Haiti, unraveling the paradox of a man who longed for American rule and a nation scarred by it. Blending intimate memory with sweeping history, the film confronts exile, love, and the uneasy truths at the heart of freedom.

“I invite everyone to consider employing intersectionality as critical inquiry and praxis (action/reflection) as an ethical normative principle for data collection, analysis and reporting and distribution of resources. Intersectional frameworks depart from the premise that inequities are complex.  Race, Ethnicity, National Origin, Ancestry are all analytically distinct, yet simultaneous categories of experience.”

The OMB removal of Blackness from Latindad is also evident in its refusal to include Latin American nations as examples of Black-origin populations on the census form. OMB Black origin nation examples are limited to Nigeria, Ethiopia, Somalia, Ghana, Congo, Haiti and the multiracial nations of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Explicitly excluding Latin American regional examples effectively means that Afro-Latinos with origins in for example Colombia, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, are all excluded from the invitation to select Black.

Afro-Latino scholars provided the federal government a detailed statistical methodology for retaining some of the important distinction between race and ethnicity. Allow our contributions to be your blueprint.

Follow Ayanna Legros conversation with Aruán Ortiz; a pianist, violist and composer active in the contemporary Jazz scene. Read how his Cuban origins and Brooklyn roots influence his creative process.

Follow Tamara Isaac journey as a Black Haitian immigrant in Brazil - about language, belonging, and refusing assimilation in the face of constant anti-Black othering. Explore how language becomes a site of both power and violence for Black immigrants in Latin America, and how refusing to "fit in" can be an act of self-preservation.

This interview explores the wide breadth, inner consciousness, artistic journeys, practices, influences, and inspirations of the artist Jenna G. Arvelo. Jenna G. Arvelo most recently exhibited her painting Raised of Dragons at the Black New York exhibition curated by Folana Dione Miller, Director of Galerie Shibumi. At this exhibition Ayanna Legros, the interviewer, met Jenna G. Arvelo became a fan of her work. The discussion covers a series of topics including Jenna G. Arvelo's personal experiences, studies, geography, care, surreal modes of painting, spirituality, and symbolism.

Read about the new AfroLatino musical taking LA by storm, The Last Play By Rickérby Hinds, from the female understudy Shannon J. Sharpe. The representation of Black Latino stories is essential in today’s media, especially with Hispanic Heritage month around the corner. Celebrate AfroLatinos by reading this blog where you will get direct quotes from actors who have found belonging in performing in The Last Play.

Read about the history of the Black Latino Movement and how we can apply those strategies into present day turbulence. Not only can we uplift our own AfroLatine history but we can learn from it as well, Amilcar Priestley goes into depth about: Solidarity and organization building, Reaffirmation of cultural expressions, and Documentation and data.

Chemical hair straightener companies have heavily marketed to Black women for years, and the use of these products is common in the community. In fact, according to a December 2023 study published in Environmental Research, up to 95% of self-identified Black women in the U.S. reported using chemical hair straighteners, or hair relaxers.

This paper argues that the prohibition against the death penalty is a jus cogens norm and fundamental international human right, creating a legal and ethical imperative for abolition in the U.S. It highlights the global movement toward abolition, which, while slow, has gained undeniable momentum- over 75% of the world’s nations have abolished the death penalty in law or practice, affirming the incompatibility with human rights and dignity. Yet, the United States remains an outspoken outlier, clinging to one of the most archaic and brutal forms of state-sanctioned violence. Like the night, which seems endless but inevitably yields to dawn, the abolition of capital punishment is within reach

Ballet is a classic dance form that Luz M. Iturbe Ortiz has been a practitioner of since eight years old. Through Ortiz’s research and personal experience we navigate the exclusive ballet space as an Afro-Latina: the boundaries of the lack of a spectrum of different skin toned point shoes available, the need for more diverse mentors in the field of ballet, etc.