Afro-Puerto Rican Narratives: Challenging the Black/Brown divide

Given the link between the development of American universities and slavery (Wilder, 2013), it must be acknowledged that institutions of higher education were and are structured on white supremacist capitalist patriarchy... [ view full abstract ]

Given the link between the development of American universities and slavery (Wilder, 2013), it must be acknowledged that institutions of higher education were and are structured on white supremacist capitalist patriarchy (hooks, 2003). As Wilder (2013) notes “Slaveholders became college presidents….Profits from the sale and purchase of human beings paid for campuses and swelled college trusts” (Wilder, 2013, p. 77). As women of color in the academy, we resist the systems and structures of marginalization. In the spirit of great Afro-Puerto Rican women such as Antonia Pantoja (Jimenez, 2009), we too, work towards creating educational spaces that liberate, rather than oppress students, in particular, Latino/a students. Thus, this paper will highlight the intersection of practicing justice centered pedagogy, coupled with our Afro-Puerto Rican lived experiences; using these as tools to build solidarity that works to resist the hyper state of neoliberal politics condemning the field of education, especially in cities like Chicago, where both authors have been schooled and currently work as educators.

The social construction of race recognizes the manner in which our identities as Puerto Rican females are “raced”, particularly in the context of higher education. Due to the dichotomous construction of race as a Black/White binary, the otherness of Puerto Rican identity places us in a position of being categorized by this binary. Therefore, we situate ourselves as Afro-Latina/Mestiza scholars (Anzaldua, 1987), specifically Afro-Puerto Ricans, disrupting this stringent Black/White binary. We assert that our identities as Puerto Ricans are inextricably linked and reflective of Blacks in the U.S.; not only in a theoretical or historical sense, but in our everyday interactions with students, colleagues and the larger social world. In order to navigate spaces of higher education, we draw on the work of scholars like Gloria Anzaldua, who states, “mestiza consciousness is about resilience and self/collective power” (Elenes, et. al., 2001, p. 598). Anzaldua (1987) reminds us of the power of our mestiza consciousness and its utility in our day-to-day work in higher education.

Given the, historical and contemporary complexities of collaboration, and shared histories amongst Black and Brown communities, our work seeks to: 1) claim our identities as Afro-Puerto Ricans, expanding Latino identity boundaries, simultaneously highlighting the ways in which we negotiate institutional and community spaces, including pedagogical approaches to transforming the educational landscape, and 2) put forth a call to recognize, respect, (re)connect and lean-in to our sister scholars to build solidarity and strength amongst female scholars of color in the academy, asserting our Afro-Puerto Rican identities as a conscious and deliberate coalition building strategy to create and/or support anti-oppressive and liberatory spaces within schools and communities.

We recognize that systems of oppression are pervasive in most institutions and their functions have been normalized in society. Our stories illuminate the agency we possess within larger structures and systems that seek to undermine the cultivation of solidarity amongst scholars of color in our efforts to resist neoliberal policies and practices.