Expanding Ideas of Mexicanidad: Possibilities for Government Recognition of Afro-Mexicans as a Population

• In Event: Recognition and Denial: Race and Ethnicity in Latin America.

Abstract

This paper will discuss barriers to federal recognition and how this impacts social, political, and economic mobility. This analysis will be relayed from the perspective of Afro-descended people who are actively engaged in grassroots mobilization as well as individuals from organizations that assist in advocacy for this population. Critical questions related to establishing a connection between the denial of black people’s presence and how they exist in contemporary society become apparent when one considers expanding definitions of Mexicanidad (Mexican-ness). For instance, what would be the significance of Afro-Mexicans being granted land rights that are protected based on their status as a historically marginalized group? Also, what new socioeconomic and political opportunities could be gained by including Afro-Mexican, or black as a specific category in the federal census? Thus the dynamics of race and national identity necessitates that Mexicanidad be reconstructed to include blackness in a way that reflects the significance of Afro-descended Mexicans to the nation’s history and encourages a dialogue about race and racism.

Author

• Savannah N Carroll, Afro-American Studies, University of Massachusetts Amherst