Latinidad as Erasure

The flat, limited narrative lacking in historical understanding and nuance of race and ethnicity that is dominant in the United States extends to those of Latine heritage. What is currently known as Latin America is made up of many countries, languages, and races across México; most of Central and South America; and the Caribbean, specifically Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Puerto Rico. In other words, lands and peoples colonized by the Spanish, Portuguese, and French Empires, which forced Indigenous peoples along with abducted Africans into forced labor and centuries long to present day exploitation and racism. The Latine identity is complicated by this colonial, imperial history and legacy of racism, erasure, anti-Blackness and denial. 

Considering this complexity, history, and understanding, in 2021, We Here brought together five library and archives workers of Latine heritage/Latin American culture for a critical conversation on the single narrative of Latinidad, a Spanish language term loosely translated as “Latino-ness,” based on Miguel Salazar’s article “The Problem With Latinidad'' published by The Nation in 2019. This article is the edited transcript of that discussion, which focused on anti-Blackness and white privilege within Latine communities, US imperialism, and Indigenous erasure. Their stories discuss who is left out of “Latinidad,” how their identities affect their work within Library and Information Science, and how the profession fails at supporting Latine communities. 

Read this article in full by clicking on the image to the right!