The Afro-Latina/o/X Resource Aid
Where Inclusion is Key
AID: from the Latin adjuvare meaning “towards help“
Welcome to The Afro-Latina/o/X Resource Aid !
The themes, listed below, serve as aids that assist in providing the title of books, articles, and essays available for free online. In addition to this, there are also links to community organizations, libraries, and school archives that help bring to light Afro-Latina/o/X experiences within the English and Spanish speaking Americas. Additionally, you will find links to websites that help you understand Art, Music, and Movies such as those listed in the LSP Film Database. In order to build a bridge that assists in expanding how different people view the world and interpret life.
The Afro-LatinX Resource Aid helps to point you in the right direction by giving access to a more collected/connected resource list, accessible to any and everyone, in a world full of knowledge gaps.
Tips, Tricks, and Things to Remember : Academic research is different from regular internet research. It may require you access websites that hold the ideas of people who are within the academic realm (that is writing for colleges/universities), or heavily dedicated to the research outside of education (think blogs made by professors, political activists, and film makers). This often makes it difficult for people not in higher education to access information that is pertinent to their understanding of themselves and the world around them. Do not let academic-heavy words intimidate you, a simple google search with the word “synonyms” attached to it, can help explain a word and its purpose in a sentence.
Dictionaries help teach word meanings in simpler terms, however, another hack is to search for a word with the term “etymology” attached to the end–this can open opportunities to learn about the origin of words, ideas, and socio-cultural practices as well as word meaning / creation. It also helps us understand the many different meanings of a word and its deep and rich history. Googling the title of a book with “pdf” on the end, searching for websites that offer “open access,” and looking on library websites that offer free online digital copies helps expand your research abilities. Lastly, the Oxford English Dictionary is another great website that tells you the entire history of an (English) word and its use. It shows you the year a word was used, and even the sentence it was used in so you can understand the context in its’ original place and time. Don’t forget to use google-translate to help bridge language barriers, this can help you learn a new language or the language of an ancestor!
We hope this helps you learn how to feel comfortable with the idea of “research” and find the resources you need to understand yourself and the world around you. Click one of the words below to get started.
Themes
PoliticsWebsites:
- The US Latino Digital Humanities Center
- National Humanities Center
- Library of Congress LatinX Resources
- NACLA (The North American Congress on Latin America)
- List of Afro-Latinx Titles by Social Justice Books
- The “Hispanic Reading Room” by the Library of Congress
- Digital Public Library of America
- NY Public Library “Miscellaneous Afro-Latin American collection”
- Black-Latino Politics Google Scholar
- NEW PRENSA Latina/o/X Digital Newspaper
Books:
- Latining America by Claudia Milian
- Racial Apocalypse: The Cultivation of Supremacy in the Early Modern World by José Juan Villagrana
- Black Literature and Humanism in Latin America by Richard Jackson
- Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals by Alexis Gumbs
- “The Caribbeanization of Black Politics” by Sharon D. Wright Austin
Articles:
- “Atlantic History and the Slave Trade to Spanish America” by Alex Borucki, David Elts, and David Wheat
- “All The Color Of Awakened Aurora: The Blackness, Feminism, & Latinidad Of Julia De Burgos” by Michael Cruz
- “Afro-descendants in Latin American countries live in starkly unequal conditions that impact health and well-being, PAHO study shows” by the Pan American Health Organization
- “8 Afro-Latines Who Are Breaking Barriers In U.S. Politics” by Safire Sostre
- “The Latinx Census Racial Category Debate And How to UNITE Latinx Across Racial Differences” by Tanya Katerí Hernández
- “Afro-Descedants in Latin America” by WorldBank.org
Essays:
- “La Raza Cósmica” (“The Cosmic Race”) by José Vasconcelos (Spanish-language essay)
- “Twice Migration and Indo-Caribbean American Identity Politics” by Jessica Ramsawak
- Selected Essays “Caribbean Discourse” by Edouard Glissant
- “Centering Black Latinidad: A profile of the U.S. Afro-LatinX Population and Complex Inequalities”–Policy Report by Galdámez, et al.
-
“Health of Afro-descendant People in Latin America” by the Pan American Health Org. in partnership with the W.H.O.
Identity
Websites:
- Latin American Studies Association
- Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage (“Recovery”)
- Explore Afro-Latino Literature guide by Arte Público Press
- UC Press E-Book Collection (1982-2004) via California Digital Press
- NACLA (The North American Congress on Latin America)
- List of Afro-Latinx Titles by Social Justice Books
- The Library of Congress’ Afro-LatinX Bibliography
- The Yale New Haven Teachers Institute Interschool and Interdisciplinary FolkTales Resource
- Delaware Afro-Latina Oral Histories Collection
- Afro-LatinX Google Scholar
- NEW PRENSA Latina/o/X Digital Newspaper
- Dominican Studies Institute: Digital Archive “The First Blacks in the Americas”
Books:
- The Cambridge History of African and Caribbean Literature. Edited by F. Abiola Irele and Simon Gikandi
- Latining America by Claudia Milian
- Racial Apocalypse: The Cultivation of Supremacy in the Early Modern World by José Juan Villagrana
- Decolonizing Diasporas: Radical Mappings of Afro-Atlantic Literature by Yomaira C. Figueroa-Vásquez
- The Black Image in Latin American Literature by Richard Jackson
- Manuel Zapata Olivella and the “Darkening” of Latin American Literature by Antonio D. Tillis
Articles:
- “African Explorers of Spanish America” by the Park Ethnography Program
- “Spanish | Indian Guyanese | English” by MizedRaceFaces
- “Afro-Latino: A deeply rooted identity among U.S. Hispanics” by Ana Gonzalez-Barrera and Gustavo López
- “Blackness and Latinidad are not mutually exclusive. Here’s what it means to be Afro-Latino in America” by Amir Vera and Alexander Pineda
- “Afro-Latinx Students Navigate Racism and Erasure in the Classroom” by Stephanie García
- “Piri Thomas and the Power of Self-Portrayal” Taína Caragol via The Smithsonian
- “Quimbamba” by Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro, translated by Lawrence Schimel
- “La piel negra que transgrede” – Entrevista por David Caleb Acevedo for Label me Latina/o (In Spanish)
- “Matronas” by Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro via TodasPR (In Spanish)
- “Untangled Roots, Embracing Identity: A conversation w/ Afro-LatinX writer Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro” by Isabella Silva-Biotti
- “Focusing on the Present and Future of Afro-LatinX Studies” by Omaris Z. Zamora
- “Loíza is Universal: The Old Griot Tells an Afro-Indigenous World Story” by Carlos Rivera Santana
- “From Ebony and Jet to Vibe, Black Latina Visual Media Representation Provides a Blueprint for Latinx Media” by Janel Martinez
Essays:
- “Africans in Spanish-America: Slavery, Freedom and Identities in the Colonial Era” by Silke Hensel
- “Black Conquistadors: Armed Africans in Early Spanish America” by Matthew Restall
- “Black Brotherhoods in the Portuguese Atlantic” by Alicia L. Monroe
- “Iberian Roots of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, 1440–1640” by The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
- Latin America: Afro-descendants by Darién J. Davis
Culture
Websites:
- Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage Digital Collections
- The National Library of Spain (BIBLIOTECA DIGITAL HISPÁNICA)
- Akelarre: History and Fiction (Spanish Language Lit Journal and Reviews)
- Afro-Descendent Google Scholar Search
- Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (Spanish Language Resource)
- The National Park Service’s Park Ethnography Program’s “African American Heritage and Ethnography” Resource
- Afro Puerto Rican Art (Spanish-language Website)
- Remezcla
- NACLA (The North American Congress on Latin America)
- List of Afro-Latinx Titles by Social Justice Books
- The Library of Congress’ Afro-LatinX Bibliography
- NEW PRENSA Latina/o/X Digital Newspaper
Books:
- A History of Afro-Hispanic Language by John Lipski
- Latining America by Claudia Milian
- African diaspora in the cultures of Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States by Persephone Braham
- Decolonizing Diasporas: Radical Mappings of Afro-Atlantic Literature by Yomaira C. Figueroa-Vásquez
- Black Writers in Latin America by Richard Jackson
- TransCaribenX by Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro (via pdfcoffee)
Articles:
- “The African Experience in Early Spanish America” by Matthew Restall and Janet Landers
- “Women of the Sea: Afro-descendants honor their heritage in Mexico” by Koral Carballo
- “Africa in the Art of Latin America” by Gerardo Mosquera
- ” ‘We Are Black. We Just Speak Spanish’: Why Some Afro Latinos Want More Visibility During Black History Month” by Blanca Torres
- “Spanish | Indian Guyanese | English” by MizedRaceFaces
- “The Afro-Latinx Experience Is Essential To Our International Reckoning On Race” by Felix Contreras, Anaïs Laurent, Marisa Arbonna-Ruiz, and Jasmine Garsd
- “A Proposal for Afro-Hispanic Peoples and Culture as General Studies Course in African Universities” by Purity Ada Uchechukwu
- “Celia Cruz, Basquiat & More: 8 Books That Celebrate Inspirational Afro-Latinos” by Nia Ita
- “From the Archives: A deep dive into Afro-Latinx culture” by Cat Sposato via NPR
- “About 6 million U.S. adults identify as Afro-Latino” by Ana Gonzalez-Barrera
- “Wanwe” (a story in Spanish) by Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro [available for free download]
- “Afro-Puerto Rican Plena Fights Erasure with Queer Collaboration” by Adriana Santoni Rodríguez
Essays:
- “Latinos and Afro-Latino Legacy in the United States: History, Culture, and Issues of Identity” by Refugio I. Rochin
- “The Spanish Caribbean, 1492–1550” by Ida Altman
- “Rastafari in Puerto Rico” by Omar Ramadan-Santiago
- “Spanish Jamaica” by Casey Schmitt
Afro-Latina/o/X Keyword Thesaurus
These key terms serve as a search engine friendly way to open up the exploration of black identity within the diaspora and legacy of Spain’s colonial expansion. It is critically important that we expand the way we see and search for the past in the world. In hopes of helping to provide avenues for inclusive representation, we’ve provided words that allow us the opportunity to explore history in ways that require us to master the inclusivity required to create an equally represented narrative. Just as blackness, and its meaning, changes over time so too must our understanding of how Afro-Erasure contributes to our lives as humans who are part of different historically-impactful legacies. Something as simple as adding the term “Afro” to a geographic region of the world erupts new possibilities of including black voices, experiences, and lives into the conversations of history, art, business, science, and more.
- Afro-Hispanic
- Afro-Hispanic Caribbean
- Hispanic Caribbean
- Afro-Caribbean
- Afro-Caribeño
- Garifuna
- Indo-Afro Caribbean / Indo-Caribbean
- Afro-descendants
- Afro-descendientes
- Afro-Latin / Latine
- Afro-Latin America
- Afro-Latinoamérica
- Afro- Latinoaméricana/o
- Afro-Latina
- Afro-LatinX
- Afro-Latino
- Black and Hispanic OR LatinX
- Blacks and Latin America
- Black Caribs
- Afro- Caribenho
- Afro- Mexican / Mexicano
- Afro- Argentino / Argentine
- Afro- Ecuatoriano / Ecuadorian
- Afro- Peruano / Peruvian
- Afro- Panameño / Panamanian
- Afro- Venezolano / Venezuelan
- Afro- Chileno / Chilean
- Afro- Colombiano / Columbian
- Afro- Belizean / Beliceña / Beliceño
- Afro- Brasileño / Brazilian
- Afro- Guatemalteco / Guatemalan
- Afro- Puertorriqueño / Puerto Rican
- Afro- Dominicano / Dominican
- Afro- Salvadoreño / Salvadorans
- Afro- Costarriqueño / Costa Rican / Afrocostrarricense
- Afro- Paraguayana / Paraguayan
- Afro- Venezolano / Venezuelan
- Afro- Uruguayo / Uruguayans
- Afro- Boliviano / Bolivian
- Afro- Iberian
- Afro-Indigenous
- Afro-Indigeno
- Black-Caribbean Latina/o/X
- Dougla
- Guyana
- Spanish- Guiana
- Afro-Guianese
If you would like to recommend a film, or films, to the database, or have suggestions for the database, please email Dr. María DeGuzmán (deguzman@email.unc.edu), Director of the Latina/o Studies Program, or Dailihana Alfonseca (alfdai@unc.edu).
We would like to express our deep gratitude to Dailihana Alfonseca, researcher and compiler, for their extensive work in making this database possible.