♪ [THEME MUSIC] ♪
>> WELCOME TO SHADES OF US, THE
SHOW THAT FEATURES A PERSON'S
JOURNEY WHEN IT COMES TO RACE
AND SELF-IDENTITY.
WE WILL FEATURE AN INTERRACIAL
MEDIA PRODUCER COUPLE WHO ARE
ABOUT TO BECOME PARENTS, A
GERMAN, JAMAICAN INTERIOR
DESIGNER AND A PUERTO RICAN AFRO
LATINA PROFESSOR AND AUTHOR.
MORE THAN 50 YEARS AFTER THE
LOVING VERSUS VIRGINIA
SUPREME COURT RULING
LEGALIZING INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE
ONE OUT OF SIX COUPLES MARRY
OUTSIDE THEIR RACE AND ONE OUT
OF SEVEN CHILDREN IDENTIFY AS
MULTIETHNIC OR MULTIRACIAL,
INCLUDING MY OWN DAUGHTER WHO IS
HALF FILIPINO AND HALF
CAUCASIAN.
AMERICA BRINGS TOGETHER PEOPLE
FROM DIFFERENT CULTURES AND
RACES INCLUDING MY COLLEAGUE,
RAYNER RAMIREZ AND HIS WIFE
AMBER PAYNE, WHOSE JOURNEYS WE
EXPLORE FIRST.
>> I SEE A MOTHER TO BE.
I SEE MYSELF AS A BLACK WOMAN,
MULTIRACIAL, BIRACIAL WOMAN.
>> SEE SOMEONE WHO IS LOCKED
OUT IN LIFE.
A LOT OF FORTUNATE EVENTS GOT ME
TO THIS POINT IN LIFE.
I CAME HERE AS AN IMMIGRANT.
>> MY NAME IS AMBER PAYNE.
>> I'M RAYNER RAMIREZ.
WE MET ON A BIG PROJECT IN 2008.
NBC NEWS HAS A TRADITION OF
DOING AN INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE
STORY FOR EVERY PRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATE AND WE WERE ASSIGNED
TO COVER --
>> THE FIRST LADY.
WE DID NOT GET TOGETHER AT THAT
TIME.
WE GOT TOGETHER A FEW YEARS
LATER.
>> DURING THE SECOND --
>> ADMINISTRATION.
I'M A PRODUCT OF AN
INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE.
I'VE DATED INTERRACIALLY, GREW
UP IN AN INTERRACIAL HOUSEHOLD.
IT WAS NOT ANYTHING OUT OF THE
ORDINARY.
>> AS WE GOT TO KNOW EACH
OTHER WE REALIZED WE HAD SIMILAR
BACKGROUNDS AND BACK STORIES.
I'M AN IMMIGRANT FROM THE
PHILIPPINES AND I COULD RELATE
WITH HER MOM, AN IMMIGRANT
FROM JAMAICA.
>> RAINER TOOK ME OUT ON OUR
FIRST DATE TO A FILIPINO
RESTAURANT.
>> AND SHE WAS LIKE THIS
VINEGAR IS AWESOME.
>> THAT IS WHERE HE SHARED
HIS CULTURE WITH ME.
WE REALLY BONDED OVER OUR
FAMILIES AND FAMILY STORIES.
>> PART OF THE ATTRACTION
IS THE FOOD.
>> YEAH.
I'M A NEWS PRODUCER.
I WORKED FOR 10 YEARS AT NBC
NIGHTLY NEWS PRODUCING THE
EVENING NEWS EVERY DAY.
AFTER THAT I TRANSITIONED TO
LAUNCH NBC BLK, A VERTICAL
FOCUSED ON TELLING STORIES BY,
FOR, AND ABOUT THE BLACK
COMMUNITY.
NOW I'M THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
OF VIDEO FOR TEEN VOGUE AND THEM
WHICH IS LGBTQ PLUS FOCUSED
VERTICAL.
I FOCUSED ON IDENTITY AND RACE
IN THE LAST FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS,
EVEN WHEN I WAS A PRODUCER AT
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS I WAS OFTEN ONE
OF THE ONLY
BLACK PRODUCERS IN THE OFFICE.
I FOUND I WOULD GET THOSE
ASSIGNMENTS THAT WERE ON RACE.
>> I'M A DOCUMENTARY
FILMMAKER.
I ALWAYS FELT I HAD TO
REPRESENT.
THE NEWS MEDIA IS NOT THAT
DIVERSE.
IT'S GETTING BETTER NOW.
WHEN I STARTED I TOOK IT ON AS A
MISSION TO REPRESENT.
LONG BEFORE HIP-HOP AND THE
SOUNDS OF SALSA A BEAT ROSE
OUT OF THESE STREETS.
WE ARE HERE IN SAN ANTONIO AT
THE AMERICAN FARM BUREAU
CONVENTION TO GET ANSWERS ABOUT
CHILD LABOR IN AMERICA.
>> WHEN YOU WALK LIKE THAT --
>> FOR ASIAN AMERICAN LIFE,
I'M RAYNER RAMIREZ.
>> I WANTED TO LOOK AROUND
THE NEWSROOM AND SEE MORE PEOPLE
LIKE MYSELF MAKING DECISIONS AT
A HIGHER LEVEL.
NOW THAT I'M AN NP,
I AM PROUD TO
HOPEFULLY BE SOMEONE THAT YOUNG
PEOPLE WHO LOOK LIKE ME CAN LOOK
UP TO.
I AM PERCEIVED A CERTAIN WAY AND
I REALIZE PEOPLE ARE NOT SEEING
ME AS A HALF WHITE PERSON.
I'M SEEN AS A MULTIRACIAL BLACK
WOMAN.
I THINK I'VE LEARNED A LOT BY
COVERING NEWS EVENTS IN MY
CAREER ABOUT HOW TO UNDERSTAND
THAT AND REALLY KNOW WHERE I
CAME FROM.
ONE OF THE MOST IMPACTFUL
STORIES WAS MEETING PEGGY LOVING
WHOSE PARENTS WERE PART OF THE
LOVING VERSUS VIRGINIA SUPREME
COURT CASE WHERE
ANTI-MISCEGENATION LAWS WERE
STRUCK DOWN IN 1967.
I GOT TO MEET AND INTERVIEW
PEGGY LOVING, JUST TO HEAR HER
EXPRESS HERSELF ABOUT HOW IF IT
WAS NOT FOR HER PARENTS SO MANY
RELATIONSHIPS WOULD NOT HAVE
BEEN POSSIBLE.
MY PARENTS WERE MARRIED IN
VIRGINIA IN THE LATE 1970s.
IT WAS AN IMPORTANT STORY FOR ME
TO BE CONNECTED TO.
THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO
DO LOOK LIKE ME, WHO DO HAVE
PARENTS WHO FACED THE KIND OF
DISCRIMINATION.
>> WITH A GROWING NUMBER OF
INTERRACIAL RELATIONSHIPS AND
BIRACIAL FOLKS WE ARE STILL
LIVING IN DENIAL OF RACE.
WE DON'T WANT TO HAVE A
CONVERSATION ABOUT OUR OWN
BIASES AND I THINK THAT IS A
PROBLEM FOR US AS A COUNTRY.
>> WHEN I WAS BORN, FOR A
JAMAICAN WOMAN AND THIS WHITE
MAN WHO GOT TOGETHER AND THEY
ARE NOW HAVING A CHILD, EYEBROWS
RAISED ABOUT A MIX RAISED BABY
COMING INTO THIS WORLD, IN
VIRGINIA.
THERE WERE SOME MEMBERS OF MY
FATHER'S FAMILY WHO REALLY WERE
NOT IN SUPPORT OF THAT.
THERE WAS A BIAS IN SOME MEMBERS
OF THE EXTENDED FAMILY AT LEAST
ON WHETHER MY PARENTS SHOULD
HAVE CHILDREN.
MY MOM TOLD ME THE STORY OF A
BIG FAMILY PICNIC THAT WAS
HAPPENING AT THE FAMILY FARM AND
I WAS SIX MONTHS OLD.
NO ONE HAD MET ME YET AND MY
PARENTS KIND OF CAME DOWN THIS
HILL TO THE FARM AND EXTENDED
FAMILY IS ENJOYING A PIG ROAST
BARBECUE AND EVERYONE TURNS AND
SEES MY PARENTS COMING DOWN WITH
THIS BABY THAT NO ONE HAS REALLY
MET YET.
MY DAD'S FATHER CAME FROM THE
RANKS OF THE FAMILY AND WAS THE
ONE TO WALK UP THE HILL AND TAKE
ME INTO HIS ARMS AND HOLD ME.
BY THAT GESTURE, IT MEANT A LOT
TO MY MOM THAT HE CAME OUT AND
DID THAT.
THANKFULLY, I GREW UP BEING
COMPLETELY EMBRACED BY THE
FAMILY.
THERE WAS SOME TENSION AT THE
BEGINNING.
>> THAT GESTURE SYMBOLIZED
EVERYTHING FOR HER.
I THINK THAT IS WHAT PEOPLE NEED
TO DO.
THEY NEED TO BREAK RANKS AMONG
THE FAMILY, THEIR PEERS, AND
OPEN UP.
>> I THINK WE ARE IN A
DIFFERENT TIME NOW.
A LITTLE BIT.
>> HOPEFULLY.
I THINK SO.
WE LIVE IN NEW YORK SO WE DON'T
EXPERIENCE ANY KIND OF BIAS
TOWARDS OUR INTERRACIAL
RELATIONSHIP.
>> THAT WE ARE AWARE OF.
WHY DO WE HAVE THIS PROBLEM
TALKING ABOUT RACE?
WHAT IS RACISM?
I DON'T WANT TO SAY HOW DO WE
FIX IT.
THAT IS LIKE AN IDEALISTIC --
BUT HOW DO WE EXPLAIN IT TO
YOUNGER GENERATIONS?
HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THEY HAVE
THAT CONTEXT OF WHAT HAPPENED IN
OUR COUNTRY THAT PUT US IN THIS
PLACE?
>> YOU ARE ABOUT TO MEET AN
INTERIOR DESIGNER WHO USES HIS
CRAFT TO EXPRESS IDENTITY FOR
OTHERS.
HERE'S BERNHARD BLYTHE.
>> I SOMETIMES CATCH
MYSELF IN A MIRROR, A REFLECTIVE
SURFACE AND I ALMOST DON'T
RECOGNIZE MYSELF.
NOT THAT I DON'T RECOGNIZE
MYSELF I SAY THAT'S WHAT I LOOK
LIKE.
AND I DON'T KNOW WHY THAT IS BUT
THAT HAPPENS TO ME SOMETIMES.
I AM BERNHARD BLYTHE, AN
INTERIOR DESIGNER IN NEW YORK
CITY.
I'VE BEEN IN NEW YORK MY WHOLE
LIFE.
I GREW UP IN NEWARK, NEW JERSEY
BUT I'VE ALWAYS CONSIDERED
MYSELF A NEW YORKER.
I'VE HAD MY DESIGN BUSINESS FOR
ABOUT 18 YEARS NOW.
A LONG TIME COMING.
I AM THE YOUNGEST OF FOUR TO AN
INTERRACIAL COUPLE.
MY FATHER IS FROM JAMAICA.
MY MOTHER IS FROM GERMANY.
HE EMIGRATED TO THE UNITED
STATES TO GO TO COLLEGE.
JOINED THE ARMY, SHIPPED OVER TO
GERMANY IN THE LATE 1950s AND
MET MY MOTHER, MARRIED HER, WE
MOVED TO NEW JERSEY BECAUSE HE
WAS FINISHING HIS DEGREE SO THAT
IS WHERE I GREW UP.
I'VE BEEN IN NEW YORK EVER
SINCE 1987.
BACK THEN, I WOULD CONSIDER
MYSELF BLACK,
I WOULD SAY AFRICAN-AMERICAN.
AS A KID IT WAS NOT NECESSARILY
A POLITICAL STATEMENT, MORE
BECAUSE I HAD AN AFRO AND WE
LIVED IN THE BLACK NEIGHBORHOOD
AND MY RELATIVES WERE ALL BLACK
ONLY MY JAMAICAN RELATIVES ARE
IN THE UNITED STATES SO ALL MY
FRIENDS WERE BLACK, THAT JUST
SEEMED NORMAL.
I WAS A BLACK KID WITH A WHITE
MOTHER.
I WAS NAMED AFTER MY FATHER'S
GRANDFATHER WHOSE NAME IS
BERNHARD.
AFTER MY BIRTH, MY MOTHER WAS
FILLING OUT MY BIRTH
CERTIFICATE AND SHE DID NOT
REALIZE THE BRITISH
DON'T HAVE AN "H" IN IT
AND SHE SPELLED IT THE GERMAN
WAY.
WHICH CONFOUNDS SOME PEOPLE.
I DROPPED IT FOR TWO YEARS
AROUND FIRST OR SECOND GRADE.
I WROTE MY NAME WITHOUT THE H.
BY THIRD GRADE I REALIZED THAT
IS PART OF WHO I AM AND THAT IS
MY NAME AND PEOPLE ARE GOING TO
HAVE TO ADJUST.
MY OLDEST TWO SIBLINGS HAVE
CONSIDERED THEMSELVES MIXED
RACE.
THEY DID NOT CONSIDER THEMSELVES
WHITE OR BLACK.
MY SISTER CHRISTINA AND I WERE
THE CLOSEST IN AGE.
WE PROBABLY HAVE MORE FEATURES
LIKE MY FATHER.
WE BOTH HAVE AFRO'S, KINKY HAIR,
FACIALLY WE LOOK MORE LIKE MY
FATHER.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD MY PARENTS
MOVED INTO WAS VERY RACIALLY
MIXED NEIGHBORHOOD AND OVER THE
COURSE OF MY CHILDHOOD IT BECAME
BASICALLY ALL BLACK.
MY FIRST GRADE CLASS WAS
PROBABLY PREDOMINANTLY WHITE
WITH ABOUT ONE THIRD
AFRICAN-AMERICAN, THIRD BLACK.
BY THE TIME I GOT TO 8TH GRADE,
GRADUATING FROM THAT SCHOOL,
THERE WERE THREE WHITE KIDS IN
THE WHOLE SCHOOL.
YOU GET AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT
THE NEIGHBORHOOD WAS UNDERGOING
AND PART OF THAT IS BECAUSE
NEWARK HAD THE RIOTS.
MY OLDEST TWO SIBLINGS GREW UP
VERY MUCH WITH FRIENDS OF ALL
COLORS AND I THINK BECAUSE THEIR
HAIR IS STRAIGHTER AND THEIR
FEATURES AND SOME RESPECTS LESS
BASED ON MY FATHER AND MORE
BASED ON MY MOTHER, THE WAY THAT
MOSTLY PLAYED OUT WAS APPLYING
TO COLLEGES.
THEY ARE APPLYING AS OTHER AND
I'M APPLYING IS
AFRICAN-AMERICAN.
IT WASN'T UNTIL I WENT TO
COLLEGE WHEN I MET OTHER PEOPLE
OF MIXED RACE PARENTAGE.
IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY IT IS
NOT USUALLY QUESTIONED, THEY
JUST ASSUME I'M MIXED.
PARTICULARLY WHEN MY HAIR WAS
LONGER AND NOT KEPT SHORT.
I AM LOSING IT NOW BUT IT WAS
NOT UNTIL I GOT TO COLLEGE WHERE
ALL OF A SUDDEN EVERYBODY WHO
WAS NOT BLACK WOULD ASK ME WHAT
ARE YOU.
SO RATHER THAN SAYING THAT I AM
MIXED BLACK WHITE OR MIXED RACE
I WOULD SAY I'M JAMAICAN AND
GERMAN AND I SAY THAT PARTIALLY
BECAUSE I'M ALSO, AS MUCH AS I
IDENTIFY AS AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN,
I ALSO IDENTIFY AS THE
CHILD OF IMMIGRANTS.
I DO INTERIOR DESIGN.
I RENOVATE INTERIORS.
MY STUDIES WAS IN ARCHITECTURE.
THE BIGGER INDUSTRY FOR ME IN
NEW YORK WAS NOT BUILDING NEW
BUILDINGS FROM THE GROUND UP,
BUT GOING INTO EXISTING
BUILDINGS AND ADAPTING THEM FOR
MODERN LIFE.
I AM TYPICALLY HIRED TO RENOVATE
AN ENTIRE APARTMENT WHICH OFTEN
TIMES MEANS TEARING DOWN WALLS,
RECONFIGURING THE SPACE,
REDESIGNING, EXPANDING OR
OPENING UP KITCHENS TO THE MAIN
LIVING ROOM.
I LIKE TO BRING THE CLASSIC
EUROPEAN WESTERN-NESS AND INFUSE
IT WITH SOMETHING THAT IS MORE
GLOBAL, MORE REFLECTIVE OF THE
WORLD THAT WE LIVE IN NOW WHICH
I SEE AS A MULTIRACIAL AND
MULTICULTURAL WORLD.
I DON'T HAVE WHAT SOMEONE MIGHT
CALL A SIGNATURE STYLE.
I'VE ALSO NOT EVER BEEN SOMEONE
WHO FELT LIKE I NEEDED TO HIDE
CERTAIN ASPECTS OF MYSELF.
SO AUTHENTICITY FOR ME IS
IMPORTANT BECAUSE WHEN I WAS 18
I CAME OUT TO MY MOTHER BECAUSE
OF SOMETHING THAT WAS GOING ON
IN THE FAMILY.
IT FELT IMPORTANT FOR ME TO TELL
HER THIS THING ABOUT MYSELF.
UNTIL THIS TIME I HADN'T.
I'VE TRIED TO LIVE AS OPENLY AND
AUTHENTICALLY AS I CAN WITH
MYSELF AND A LOT OF THAT IS
QUESTIONING WHO I AM.
THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS I'M
COMFORTABLE WITH BEING WITH
OTHER PEOPLE.
SO, THE FIRST TIME A CLIENT SAYS
TO ME, THIS IS GOING TO BE A
STUPID QUESTION.
THERE REALLY ARE NO STUPID
QUESTIONS, IF YOU DON'T KNOW
SOMETHING YOU DON'T KNOW IT.
I RARELY LOOK AT LIFE IN TERMS
OF BLACK AND WHITE.
BOTH PROFESSIONALLY SPEAKING, AS
WELL AS IN MY POLITICAL WORK AND
MY PERSONAL LIFE.
AS -- AS I WAS TO HAVE
SEEN AND HAVE WORKED ON A
GRASSROOTS LEVEL TO HAVE OUR
FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN
PRESIDENT, IT STARTED TO PEEL
AWAY THE MASK OF WHAT WE AS AN
AMERICAN CULTURE WERE TRYING TO
TELL OURSELVES.
WE ARE ON THIS PATH TOWARD FULL
EQUALITY, END OF RACISM.
THAT IS DEFINITELY NOT THE WORLD
WE LIVE IN.
I FEEL IN MANY RESPECTS OUR
COUNTRY IS STARTING TO FINALLY
ACKNOWLEDGE THINGS LIKE WHITE
PRIVILEGE.
WHO HEARD THAT TERM 20 YEARS
AGO?
THAT WAS NOT WHAT WAS COMING OFF
THE LIPS IN THE 60s OF THE
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.
WE WERE ADDRESSING EQUALITY
ISSUES AND WE WERE NOT
ADDRESSING NECESSARILY HOW THE
WHITE MAJORITY ASSUMES THEIR
ROLE WITHOUT ANY CONSCIOUSNESS.
I'D LIKE TO THINK THE DESIGN
WORK I DO IS IMPACTING PEOPLE'S,
INDIVIDUALS' LIVES BUT LARGER AS
A SOCIETAL SHIFT I AM NOT OUT
THERE PUSHING MY VISION OVER AS
THE WAY THE WORLD SHOULD BE BUT
I AM ACTING TO BRING ABOUT
EQUALITY TO CREATE A MORE
PROGRESSIVE SOCIETY WITHOUT
PERCEPTIONS.
I UNDERSTAND THAT IS A
COMPLICATED STATEMENT TO MAKE.
>> FEW PEOPLE KNOW ARTURO
SCHOMBURG WAS AN AFRO LATINO
FROM PUERTO RICO.
VANESSA VALDÉS CARRIES THE TORCH
FORWARD HIGHLIGHTING THE WORKS
OF AFRO LATINOS SUCH AS HERSELF.
>> ON THE ISLAND OF PUERTO
RICO THEY LIKE TO SAY THERE'S NO
SUCH THING AS RACISM.
THEY DON'T SEE RACE.
WE ARE ALL PART OF THE BIG
PUERTO RICAN FAMILY AND THEN YOU
NOTICE THERE ARE VARYING SHADES
OF MELANIN.
MY NAME IS VANESSA VALDÉS.
I AM A PROFESSOR AT THE CITY
COLLEGE OF NEW YORK.
MY RESEARCH INTERESTS ARE THE
LITERATURES OF THE AFRICAN
DIASPORA IN THE AMERICAS.
I HAVE AN UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE
IN ENGLISH.
I HAVE A MASTERS IN SPANISH, A
MASTERS IN PORTUGUESE AND A
DOUBLE DOCTORATE IN SPANISH AND
PORTUGUESE.
I LOOK AT THE CULTURAL
PRODUCTIONS OF BLACK PEOPLE
ACROSS THIS HEMISPHERE IN THE
AMERICAS.
I AM AFRO LATINA.
BOTH OF MY PARENTS HAD A WHITE
PUERTO RICAN PARENT AND A BLACK
PUERTO RICAN PARENT.
MY FATHER'S FAMILY CAME TO THE
CITY IN 1938.
HE WAS BORN IN 1939.
HIS PARENTS, HIS GRANDPARENTS.
MY MOTHER CAME IN THE 1950s AS
PART OF OPERATION BOOTSTRAP, THE
INDUSTRIALIZATION OF ISLANDS.
MASS MIGRATION OF PUERTO RICANS
TO NEW YORK,
TO ENCOURAGE ECONOMIC INVESTMENT
SO SHE WAS PART OF THAT.
WE JOKED, MY BROTHERS AND
SISTERS AND I, WE HAVE SOMEONE
BORN IN EL BARRIO AND THEN WE
HAVE MY MOM FROM THE ISLAND.
BEING BLACK AND PUERTO RICAN
TO ME MEANS ALWAYS PAYING
ATTENTION TO THAT WHICH IS NOT
PART OF THE NATIONAL NARRATIVE.
IT MEANS WHEN YOU SEE
CONVERSATIONS ABOUT BLACKNESS IN
THE UNITED STATES I ALWAYS AM
ATTENTIVE TO HOW THEY ARE
DEFINING BLACK BECAUSE MORE
OFTEN THAN NOT IT DOES NOT
INCLUDE SPANISH-SPEAKING PEOPLE
WHICH IS THE REASON WE GET A
CARDI B OR BRUNO MARS OR AMARA
LA NEGRA CONTROVERSY.
THE FOUNDING HAPPENS UNDER THE
SPANISH FLAG AND EVEN THOUGH THE
SPANISH FLAG WAS THE FIRST
EUROPEAN LANGUAGE SPOKEN HERE
THAT IS NOT THE HISTORY WE ARE
TAUGHT.
WE TAUGHT ABOUT THE PURITANS AND
PLYMOUTH ROCK AND JAMESTOWN.
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT IDENTITIES
THAT HAVE EXISTED FOR MILLENNIA.
THE POPULAR CONCEPTUALIZATION IS
WE ARE FROM THE THREE RACES,
EUROPEAN AND INDIGENOUS AND
AFRICAN AND THEN AFRICAN IS
OFTEN LIKE MOVED TO THE SIDE
EXCEPT FOR IF YOU WANT SOME KIND
OF FOLKLORIC CELEBRATION.
THEN YOU WILL SEE WOMEN IN WHITE
SKIRTS DANCING TO SOME
PERCUSSION AND THEN THAT IS
ACCEPTABLE.
BUT THERE'S NO CONVERSATION
ABOUT THE MAINTENANCE OF THOSE
TRADITIONS.
WE ARE COMING INTO A MOMENT
WHERE UNDERSTANDING MORE AND
MORE HOW BLACKNESS AND LATINIDAD
ARE NOT CONTRADICTIONS.
I WAS AN UNDERGRADUATE AT
YALE UNIVERSITY, ENGLISH MAJOR.
I COBBLED TOGETHER MY MAJOR
TO BE SHAKESPEARE, CHAUSER,
MILTON, TONI MORRISON,
RICHARD WRIGHT, RALPH ALLISON.
ONE DAY MY THIRD YEAR THERE WAS
A VISITING PROFESSOR WHO WAS
TEACHING A COURSE CROSS LISTED
IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH CALLED
U.S. LATINO LITERATURE WHICH I
DID NOT KNOW WHAT THAT WAS AND
SO I SAID I WILL TAKE THAT.
THERE WAS ANOTHER COURSE, AFRO
HISPANIC LITERATURE.
THEY CHANGED MY LIFE.
THE FIRST FULL-LENGTH BOOK WE
READ WAS "DOWN THESE MEAN
STREETS."
PIRI THOMAS WAS TALKING ABOUT
GROWING UP IN SPANISH HARLEM.
HAVING A FATHER THAT WAS DARK
SKINNED AND A MOTHER WHO WAS
LIGHT-SKINNED.
THE FIRST TIME THAT I SAW MY
FAMILY IN LITERATURE AND
QUESTIONS OF COLOR AND QUESTIONS
OF IDENTITY AND QUESTIONS
OF WHERE IS HOME.
THE FIRST TIME I HAD TO QUESTION
WHO I WAS.
THAT WAS THE FIRST CLASS I SAW
EXPLICIT CONVERSATIONS ABOUT
BLACKNESS IN LATIN AMERICA AND
READING THE POETRY OF
TATO LAVIERA SHATTERED ME.
HE HAS A POEM CALLED,
NUYORICAN.
WHERE HE SAYS IN SPANISH,
WE PRESERVE OUR CUSTOMS
BETTER THAN YOU DO.
HE IS TALKING TO ISLANDERS
SAYING WE DID NOT ASK TO COME
HERE.
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS FORCED US
HERE.
YOU CAN'T TELL US WE'RE LESS
THAN YOU.
I WENT TO THE PROFESSOR AND SAID
I WANT TO KNOW MORE.
THE WAY WE LEARN ABOUT PUERTO
RICAN HISTORY IN NEW YORK CITY
IS OPERATION BOOTSTRAP --
WE DON'T LEARN ABOUT 1890s,
OR CUBAN AND PUERTO RICAN
EXILES WHO WERE
FIGHTING FOR INDEPENDENCE.
ARTURO SCHOMBURG IS KNOWN
PRIMARILY FOR THIS CENTER AS A
HARLEM RENAISSANCE ARCHIVIST.
THE MOST FAMOUS AFRO PUERTO
RICAN LOTS OF PEOPLE DID NOT
KNOW ABOUT.
IT WAS IMPORTANT TO ME THAT HE
BE AT THE CENTER OF OUR
NARRATIVE.
MY BOOK IS CALLED "DIASPORIC
BLACKNESS."
EVERY SPACE ARTURO SCHOMBURG
INHABITED, AS A FREE MASON,
AS A COLLECTOR, AS AN ARCHIVIST,
AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE
FIRST BLACK INTELLECTUAL SOCIETY
IN THIS COUNTRY, THE AMERICAN
NEGRO ACADEMY, HE WAS ALWAYS
TALKING ABOUT SPANISH-SPEAKING
AREAS.
AT THIS TIME, THE PUSH TO BE
"AMERICAN" WAS ASSIMILATION IN
THIS COUNTRY AND THE
ASSIMILATION NARRATIVE IN THIS
COUNTRY WHICH IS YOU LEAVE YOUR
ETHNIC IDENTITY BEHIND.
THIS IS NOT TO SAY HE DID SO.
IN FACT, HIS LIFE'S WORK
TESTIFIED TO THE FACT THAT HE
DID NOT DO THIS.
THE REASON FOR ARTURO
SCHOMBURG'S COLLECTION, HE
THOUGHT THAT BRINGING TOGETHER
ALL OF THESE DATA ATTESTING TO
BLACK EXCELLENCE, HE HAD VARIOUS
COPIES OF PHYLLIS WHEATLEY
POEMS, COLLECTING DOCUMENTS AND
PAMPHLETS AND PHOTOGRAPHS,
EVERYTHING THAT TALKED ABOUT,
THAT DEMONSTRATED NOT ONLY BLACK
FOLKS' HUMANITY BUT ALSO THAT
THEY HAVE ALWAYS EXCELLED.
AND THE IDEA BEHIND THAT, IF WE
SHOW THEM THAT WE ARE HUMAN AND
WE EXCELLED, THEY WOULD
RECOGNIZE OUR HUMANITY AND THEY
WOULD TREAT US EQUALLY.
AND WE'RE NOT THERE YET, STILL.
>> THAT IS OUR SHOW FOR NOW.
IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT
THE PEOPLE FEATURED, LOG ONTO
OUR WEBSITE AT TV.CUNY.EDU.
WE WILL SEE YOU NEXT TIME ON
"SHADES OF US."
♪ [THEME MUSIC] ♪
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