.Brown But Black.

How would you know unless I told you?

How would you know that I was purple, green, brown, orange or blue?

How would you know that I was like you

Unless I told you

In your defense I don’t have fine curls that dance like ocean waves

I don’t have a vowel-ending or gendered last name

I’m more of a hazelnut than a caramel or milky beige

I am not familiar

So how would you know unless I told you?

I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it

I guess when I say it

You have to not think I’m full of shit

Cause I’m not trying to get over on you

I am the grandchild of Central American Belizean immigrants

On my mother’s and father’s side

But because I can’t repeat that back in Spanish you think I lied

But you were the one that told me I was qualified

As long as I put the “Afro” in front of the “Latino”

Cause as far as we know

You couldn’t possibly be LATINO latino

If you don’t speak our language, have our hair, have our names or you’re not fair

You know what, as a matter of fact

Just stay over there

Just to be safe

Cause when you walk down the street

You won’t catch the same case

They’re not trying to deport you

Or report you

Or take advantage of and extort you

By treating you like you’re dumb because of your broken English

You don’t just get to be a part of this because it, “Seems-ish” like you should be

And maybe it could be

But honestly I don’t see it

And yet, how would you know to even look unless I told you?

“Afro-Latino”

I didn’t make that up

I was gifted it, given it, shoved in it, drugged with it

Told that I’m invited because I was now stuck with it

I was called it without my permission

And there was something in my intuition

That felt it wasn’t right

Maybe it was somewhere along the way

Of Hollywood giving it to people with slightly wider noses who were still white

And I still love my fellow big nosed siblings

But if y’all who still bear alabaster skin are the Afro-Latinos

Then what are we?

The AFRO Afro-Latinos

The brothers and sisters darker than midnight

They can hide in the shadows till they smiles get bright

And show up to the cookout and be served a rib platter

Who’s lives still need to be told that they matter

Afro Latinos

Then you give us a little shoutout on your social media

And consider it the greatest form of charity

All the while neglecting the fact that we didn’t ask for this disparity

We were just Latinos who we were

And you qualified us

Then disqualified us by writing to me,

“Your film has disqualified from our festival because it is neither about nor by Latinos”

But how would you know unless I told you, right?