March 6, 2024
I No Black, I Dominican
By John Myers
By Nicole Santiago
In the summer of 2019, my family and I went on a trip to the Dominican Republic which was meaningful to all of us. There were about 20 of us crammed on a bus, living life, blasting music, and having fun. Meeting new cousins, uncles, and aunts you didn’t know you had was a bit awkward, but I was overwhelmed by all the rivers and beaches. After two long months in 100 degree weather, and as someone who is lighter skinned – that definitely changed. I was told, “You got so dark,” “You look like a Haitian,” “you got burnt.” As a 12 year-old, I thought I looked fine, but I guess not.
Reflecting on this years later makes me wonder how I would be treated if I was born and raised in the Dominican Republic? Would I be too dark then? Would my family be less caring? All of these questions are left unanswered because I was born in the land of new opportunities. I’ve never been one to stick up for myself when it comes to family. I was young, and it would’ve been considered disrespectful. Nowadays, there are definitely less comments on our skin color, and I hope history doesn’t repeat itself.
My friend Jerlianny Herqueinz, a Black Dominican woman, used an acne cream that her mother gave her that took away her acne but lightened her skin. ”You look good this way, you look so much better,” said her mom. Jerlianny wished she had encountered more representations of a confident Dominican Black woman when she was growing up, as it would’ve made her feel more empowered. Furthermore, we often see Dominicans referring to someone based on their features. If you’re white you’re “blanca,” if you’re skinny, you’re the “ flaca”, if you’re fat, you are the “ gorda.”
Although these may seem harmless, their impact is major and can target someone’s self- esteem and outlook. Jerlianny claims, “I didn’t even know my dad’s name, I literally thought it was “Moreno” because that’s all I heard.” The dangers of these phrases can not only affect you but the people around you, like your children. When we are so used to hearing something it becomes reality for us. Domincans often see straight hair as the “best” hair option and everyone looks better with it whether it’s completely fried or not. We see parents talking down to their children because they are ” too dark,” or their hair isn’t straight enough. Hair straightening is very big for Dominicans. It’s hard for them to embrace their natural hair and curls, which is part of their blackness.
Jerlianny says her family calls her hair a “pajon.” Pajon is used to minimize the confidence in curly or Afro hair. She claims that for big events straightening your hair is a must. “Oh, she is so much prettier now that it’s straight, you should do this most often” is what Jerlianny constantly hears from her family. In New York City, we can see a Dominican salon in every corner, but for me this holds the trauma of every little curly-haired Dominican girl.
A Haitian friend of mine, Isaiah Charlotin, who has had good experiences around Dominicans, finds it ironic how Dominicans and Haitians can’t live in harmony even though they are geographically next to each other. “Honestly I think it’s stupid, I don’t understand hating somebody because of their race or ethnicity. You don’t even know the person… For them to be fighting is pointless, you’re supposed to be getting along and building better communities, especially since they share the same island.” Similar to the separations of Dominicans to their blackness, Isaiah has come into contact with Dominicans that deny their blackness, although they share a lot of the same features. If the Dominicans that felt entitled to come after Isaiah because of his skin color had got to him at a younger age when he wasn’t as confident, he would have felt out of place . It is time for colorism, and the rivalry between Dominicans and Haitians to stop, and to realize the influence and damage it is having on our future generations.
We often hear the phrase, “I no Black, I Dominican” in the Dominican community. Why, though? Why is there constant repetition in the internalized racism Dominicans give themselves? And the racism they give others?
I had the chance to interview the well-known author Junot Diaz. He pointed out the lack of investment that goes into the education system in the Dominican Republic, which raises competition. “You will hear bluntly people who pin light skin as beautiful to where it becomes compacted into a synonym.” He then mentioned how we would hear a variety of conversations on blackness on a college campus compared to the entirety of the Dominican Republic where we would only see blackness compared to unattractiveness. As someone who has had most of her family only get up to the eighth grade, I believe having the proper education provides more stability and provides different outlooks in life. That is to say if the Dominican Republic had a better education system, the negative perspective on blackness may have been less severe.
Another possible theory is history, going back to the years when the infamous Rafael Trujillo controlled the Dominican military, leading to what we now know as the Parsley Massacre. This massacre led to the deaths of what is estimated to be as many as thirty thousand Haitians and the breakup of hundreds of families.
Before Trujillo, Dominicans and Haitians lived in harmony by the river that was soon covered in blood. Children were able to freely cross to go to school, and people could go to lots of trading events, and even intermarry. This all came to an end on October 2nd 1937, as the execution of Haitian bloodlines were murdered. Many say Trujillo’s reason behind the massacre could’ve been for more power, from a bad experience with a Haitian, or even from the influence of Adolf Hitler. Weeks before the brutal orders, Hitler gifted the Dominican president a copy of a Mein Kampf which embraced a lot of his racist theories, inspiring Trujillo to endorse his own racist and nationalist plans.
Junot Diaz claims, “Hierarchy is absolutely essential to pigmentocracy (a term he invented to explain a hierarchy based on race) … People feel very superior to other people based on the lightest shade of difference”.
We are able to see this throughout the world. In Asian countries we see the promotion of lightening creams. In Black communities, we see light skins belittling dark skins for no reason other than shade difference. A 2019 study by Ana Gonzalez-Barrera at the Pew Research Center showed that if you were darker skinned you were more likely to get paid less, not get married, and even be three times more likely to get suspended from school. According to the study, 53% percent of Hispanics with darker skin tones claim to have been subjected to slurs or intolerable jokes. There is a constant battle about who can be the whitest, because of the consequences you face for being darker.
My three year old brother is the darkest skinned of my siblings. He and my Dad once came back from the Dominican Republic much darker. Once he came back, he was no longer regarded as a Dominican, but a Haitian. The narrative put on us that if we reach a certain complexion we are no longer Dominican is judgmental and morally wrong. It will damage our perspectives, and put us at a disadvantage when facing the real world.
I ask myself, “Will this ever end?” I guess it is up to our generation.
