I applaud Amara "La Negra", I have been watching her come up, her bravery to be her, her knowledge of self in a community of people that mostly want to ignore that part of their history because it's hard to face, thats also part of their identity---their "Blackness." I'm focused more on the entire Caribbean community when I write this not just the latin community that has also dealt with this.
I have dealt with colorism on many occasions on many levels-from in schools, to the entertainment field to the corporate environment and its bad when its the world doing it but when it is my own Caribbean people it hurts more. We are "One Caribbean" with a history starting with indigenous Arawak and Carib Amerindians on the islands first (that were almost extinct from the illnesses and bad treatment of the colonial settlers), and then over 400,000 African slaves were brought over to populate these islands as free labor for a period of over 70 years (that makes up our full features, makes up the various curl patterns in our hair textures, it's the root of our music, dance and food--the whole friggin' culture), followed by Indian and Asian indentured servants, with forced influence of English, French, Spanish and Dutch in our languages, food and political structure. (Insert here: Long breath taken). This is our DNA, we can check the history and an ancestry kit--we are an interracial Caribbean melting pot but AFRICANS ARE HEAVILY INVOLVED FROM THE ROOT!
I salute this Queen ! The inner struggle to be you, the way you were born--from the color of your skin to the afro-texture of your tresses. It's hard in this world when you are looked at as not good enough or not ideal. But you rather tough it out regardless of what your own may say and the world may say because you know thyself. You choose to identify your parents birth place and your African ancestry because that's your make up that your proud of and free to do. Amara "La Negra" is one of the many that keeps paving the way by not denying her identity and not letting this world make you change the best of you with its confusion and unconscious ignorance .
"A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots"-Marcus Garvey
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