I Am Third Generation Puerto Rican American - 1320 Words

Gallerie Quezada 22 October, 2017 Sociology 1001 Professor Bunyan I am third-generation Puerto Rican American. Although some do not see me as black, my race is black, my ethnicity is Puerto Rican, and my nationality is American. I grew in a city where 39.3 percent of the population is Hispanic. Growing up in urban city where a large percentage of the population is Hispanic shaped who I am, what I have learned, and the struggles I overcame. Even though there is no specific Puerto Rican skin tone there is a color that is favoured amongst Puerto Ricans on the island. That color is white. My mother and brother both have a lighter skin complexion than mine, and they both identify as white. I would say that I am the black sheep in my†¦show more content†¦The race of Puerto Ricans was white (spanish origin). Taino indians were the indigenous group that lived in the Caribbean Islands that consisted of Hispaniola, Cuba, and Puerto Rico before Christopher Columbus arrived in the new world. Columbus’ conquest and founding of Puerto Rico resulted in the genocide of the Tainos. Due to this atrocity, right now there is only a small percentage of people on the island who are descendants of the Taino lineage. In order for me to understand my race and ethnicity I needed to understand the historical events that shaped and culturally changed Puerto Rico. Although there is a dominant influence of Hispanic culture in Puerto Rico there is also African roots that are embedded in the Puerto Rican culture. After the genocide of the Taino indians african slaves were brought to the island for plantation purposes. My brothers factual storytelling provided me with answer as to what I identified as. Not only was I able to formulate an intellectual understanding of my identity I was able to be apart of it actively as well. The high school I attended was full of black and hispanic/latino students. A large percent of those students who were hispanic or latino were either Dominican or Puerto Rican. In the article titled, â€Å"Everyday Race Making† by Amanda E- Lewis states, â€Å" Racialization is an ongoing process that takes place continually at both macro- and micro levels andShow MoreRelatedSocial Injustices Of The United States885 Words   |  4 Pagespeople believe social injustices are unfair and will bring pain and tear, they are used to treating them as air because they never experience these unequal things. Likewise, the discrimination occurs both in upper class and regular class between Puerto Ricans and Mexicans. For example, there was an obvious discrimination happened in the speech of the Republican nomination for president election. 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