Ethnicity Vs Race: A Reflection By Valerie Hernandez-Vallejo

Ethnicity vs Race: the debate that has seemed to gain a lot of traction on Tiktok over the past couple of weeks. I remember seeing a video on my For You page about it; how being Latino or Hispanic is not a race but rather an ethnicity. The young afro-latinx girl that posted that video was 100 percent in the right. But as I ventured into the comment section, I was disappointed to find so many fellow Latinos completely attacking her with disgustingly racist comments. 

Why are we as Latinos or Hispanics so defensive in this debate? Let’s break this down a little bit. A large percent of Latinos are mixed. Personally I am Spanish and Purepecha, the Indigenous people of the Michoacan area. That’s what I am racially. I am mixed. Ethnically, I am Mexican and Salvadorian. A couple of years ago, I was very curious to find out my racial makeup. This was prompted because of an issue with a question on a questionnaire: What is your race? Should I choose white? Native? Other? Throughout my life, I never truly reaped the benefits of being white because I’m not white passing. But I also was privileged within my community because I wasn’t as dark as other Indigenous people. So to help me answer that question, I decided to take a DNA test. I found out that I’m more than half Indigenous and about a quarter Spanish. Those were my two biggest components, so I adopted them as my racial makeup. However, many other LatinX or Hispanic folks don’t share the privilege of having access to a DNA test, and I understand that. But I think there’s a general miseducation about this ever-lasting debate within the community.

Many other Latinos are also mixed, whether it be with Indigenous, Spanish, African, or a multitude of other races. However, due to colonization, a lot of mixed people, or mestizos, feel a disconnect between their Native culture and the one of the colonizers. They may not feel comfortable with identifying as White or Native because of that disconnect. I myself, feel this disconnect sometimes as well. The key component however, is acknowledging the difference between ethnicity and race. You can be a white Mexican, or an Indigenous Salvadorian, but the perception that one carries will be different because of that racial component. I think that a lot of white people within the Latino or Hispanic communities feel uncomfortable identifying as white because of the bias and discrimination that is directed towards these ethnic groups in the United States. This is totally valid. But a white Mexican isn’t as likely to be singled out as Mexican compared to a darker skinned person. This in itself carries a whole ton of privilege that many within the community are not ready to accept. 

I think that it is important to acknowledge the independent struggles of belonging to these ethnic groups while acknowledging the different levels of privilege that may exist within them. I understand the privilege I carry as a lighter skinned, mixed person. I also understand the disadvantages that may come with being a mixed person from a Latin-American country. I believe that as a community, we have a lot of work to do and a lot of accountability to take when it comes to racial bias and excusing it under the cloak of one’s ethnic group. We have to actively work on understanding this aspect of each other and ourselves if we are to become stronger and more accepting as a mixed community from many countries in Latin America.