What Are We About?

Bienvenidos! (Welcome to this blog) This blog was started in March of 2020 by two young women studying at The Claremont Colleges in California to create an inclusive community that acknowledges all aspects of identity as a learning process and continues to grow with your support. This is an open platform so feel free to share your experiences or opinions at the end of every blog or on our home page! Our blog overall is about the intersectionality of race and sexuality in Latin America. Kimberlé Crenshaw, who coined the term said that intersectionality is a “a lens through which you can see where power comes and collides, where it interlocks and intersects. It’s not simply that there’s a race problem here, a gender problem here, and a class or LBGTQ problem there. Many times that framework erases what happens to people who are subject to all of these things.” In other words it is an overlap of different aspects of identity that shape how we move through life. A good way to think about it is, how does my race, gender, sexuality, religion, socioeconomic status construct my viewpoints, influence my choices, or public perceptions of me? For Afro-Latinx and Native populations in Latin America their struggles spew from the lack of acknowledgement of their intersectionality and this is what fuels our blog. This framework is able to set the stage for changes within other social movements in race, gender, sexualities, etc. In a nutshell, intersectionality can help to better understand privilege by learning about the diversity within oppressions and how it intersects with social and political systems. 



  This blog however is not about repeating the sadness and horror of marginalized groups, but rather bringing stories to light and celebrating significant women who are paving a way for equality and acknowledgement of the diversity within Latin America. This is an open community for sharing stories and being a resource for anyone who can relate. To do just this we look at a few women who have historically played a significant role in the development of representation and equal rights in Latin America, we can see the resistance and pushback on political and hegemonic norms. All of our blog posts are found on our home page. Check out our La Historia tab to learn more about the specific history of the Afro-Latinx and Native LGBTQ+ community. The Background Information tab on the left gives overall information on the blog's topics (Finding Sources, Intersectional Exclusion, and De Quien Hablamos) and resources (Mas Recursos).  



I'm Amiya Turner, one of the co-founders and a sophomore in college. I personally relate to our blog because my dad's side of the family is from Puerto Rico. Growing up in Chicago you see a variety of cultures mixing, yet I've noticed that people coexist in very distinct locations: Greektown, Chinatown, etc. But, you rarely see a mingling of cultures unless it well populated tourist attractions. For this reason and my own background I have been fascinated in the lives of Afro-Latinas who are a blend of African, native, and Latin roots. Often times they are overlooked and not recognized as Latin enough. I have even been told this myself. So in collaboration with Emily, I felt the need to give these populations a voice and the proper recognition they deserve and show that there isn't one way to be Latina! As a proud ally to the LBGTQ+ community and witnessing all the struggles I want people to feel welcome to this site and not be afraid to express themselves.

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