Kennesaw State University DigitalCommons@Kennesaw State University Master of Arts in American Studies Capstones Interdisciplinary Studies Department 12-2014 The Triple Double: Racially Ambiguous Afro- Latino Identities in America Yen Rodriguez Kennesaw State University Follow this and additional works at:http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/mast_etd Part of theAfrican American Studies Commons,American Studies Commons,Education Commons,Latina/o Studies Commons, and theRace and Ethnicity Commons Recommended Citation Rodriguez, Yen, "The Triple Double: Racially Ambiguous Afro-Latino Identities in America" (2014).Master of Arts in American Studies Capstones.Paper 1. This Capstone is brought to you for free and open access by the Interdisciplinary Studies Department at DigitalCommons@Kennesaw State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master of Arts in American Studies Capstones by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Kennesaw State University. For more information, please [email protected]. THE TRIPLE DOUBLE RACIALLY AMBIGUOUS AFRO-LATINO IDENTITIES IN AMERICA A Reflective Essay and Curriculum for First Year Learning Community Presented to The Academic Faculty By Yen Rodriguez In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in American Studies Kennesaw State University May of 2015 1 In the arena of competitive basketball, a triple double is achieved when a player scores double digit figures in three of the five scoring statistical categories. A player’s ability to accomplish this feat is celebrated as a measure of excelled skill and versatility. Although revered, however, the ability to score a triple double is not a determining factor of overall success within the overall context of basketball. In a social setting, however, the capacity to effectively navigate through societies by use of versatility of multiple identities is paramount to successfully playing the game of life. In his classic work, The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. Du Bois introduces the concept of “Double Consciousness” as the duality of identities that African Americans face in post-slavery western societies; instinctively having to exist and socially navigate through a world where the observer, or dominant groups, determine the conditions of those being observed. As an extension of this theory springs the idea of triple consciousness, producing that same reconciled dichotomy of individuality but also considering an additional perspective of ethnicity. Afro- Latinos in America serve as a practical example of operating through a tri-layered hybridity of identity by being an American, a Negro, and a Latino. This concept will be explored through a learning community considering the effects of ethno-racial hybridity for Afro-Latinos in America, progressing towards assimilation into a social order that, as Du Bois indicates, fails to harvest an authentic consciousness of self. Rather, three competing yet accommodating realizations of self or, as titled, attempting to score a triple double. 2 Part I: Pedagogy and Teaching Philosophy So as I slightly veer from academic fashion, I suppose; To a place where rhythmic poetry meets academic prose. Because in all honesty, it’s just the way I’m predisposed. To fully comprehend and thus relay the messages exposed: Analyzing theory, breathing pragmatism through her nose. All the while, without intent of putting scholarship on hold. Just a perfect combination of the study and the soul Both evaluating culture, as societies unfold. For the theories from elitists point of views are obsolete, If the only people meant to comprehend them are elites. And the social orders that they scrutinize can change a beat When the traction of the rubber meets the certainty of street. Then attempted applications of philosophies retreat And what sounded great on paper spells personified defeat. So to better understand the academically discrete, Let’s observe the Ivory Tower from an esoteric seat. Community Learning Through dialogue, the teacher-of-the-students and the students-of-the-teacher cease to exist and a new term emerges: teacher student with students-teachers. The teacher is no longer merely the-one-who-teaches, but one who is himself taught in dialogue with the students, who in turn while being taught also teach. They become jointly responsible for a process in which all grow.1 Paulo Freire My teaching philosophy is aligned with and draws inspiration from the value system of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. By challenging the concept that knowledge is transferred linearly from teacher to student, community learning provides a platform for shared experiences to support any information being transmitted to any audience of learners. The experiential components associated with these shared experiences impact both the student and the instructor. At its core, community learning fosters an environment of reciprocal exchanges and critical dialogue, which adds a third dimension of perception to the content students receive.                                                                                                                           1  Paulo  Freire,  Pedagogy  of  the  Oppressed,  30th  Anniversary  Edition.  Translated  by  Myra  Bergman  Ramos.  New   York:  The  Continuum  International  Publishing  Group  Inc.,  2005:  71.     3 In this way, students and teachers are engaged in a collective learning experience in which the actual process of learning creates additional perspectives that influence the way that both interpret, analyze, and apply the content. In contrast, the process of community learning fails if operating through the assumption that all of the content delivered is automatically received at a comprehensive level. Rather, the combination of diverse approaches and experiential learning enhances a student’s ability to thoroughly process newly introduced information. Ultimately, the connections drawn between what is learned, how it is interpreted and how the learned skill is applied, contributes to a holistic paradigm of community learning. That which had existed objectively but had not been perceived in its deeper implications (if indeed it was perceived at all) begins to “stand out,” assuming the character of a problem and therefore of challenge. Thus, men and women begin to single out elements from their “background awareness” and to reflect upon them. These elements are now objects of their consideration, and, as such, objects of their action and cognition.2 Paulo Freire As a reciprocal benefit to the instructor, the shared experiences expose teachers to diversities of thought and processes of analysis. Furthermore, additional cultural exposure enhances levels of intercultural competency. The ability to operate within a wide spectrum of cultural spaces is paramount to effectively facilitate a diverse learning community. Increased exposure to a variety of cultures allows instructors to cultivate the necessary fluency to validate both the shared experiences and individual approaches of the students and then collectively integrate those perspectives when analyzing the content and effectiveness of the course. Just as students contribute their diversity of thought and experiences, so to do teachers. As their level of intercultural competence and comprehension increases the collective diversity of their experiences impacts and expands the structure of the learning going forward. Through the shared                                                                                                                           2  Ibid,  83.     4 experiences of students, instructors leave each class with a fresh set of skills gained through exposure and nurtured through immersion, necessary for a progression of diverse socio-cultural awareness. In a manner of linear posterity, students are teaching students through the exposure that an instructor receives from the repeated exchange of ideas, interpretations, and perspectives. Increased cultural discovery, awareness, and sequential implementation shifts the narrative of pedagogy from merely teaching what is written to guiding students through a process of discovery. Connecting learning material to the students’ lived reality aids in his ability to process the learning, regardless of content or discipline. That process of identifying and working through the connections between learning material and a variety of shared real life experiences are also strengthened through experiential learning opportunities. The pedagogy is reinforced through practice as its application authenticates the instruction. This cyclical progression is reinforced each moment that a student is confronted with life experiences that have been previously associated with learned content. Moving across disciplines, these real life connections compliment classroom learning as an experiential catalyst that draws a connection between learning, processing, and applying. Seven Global Challenges: Tomorrow’s World Today According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, there are seven major global challenges (formerly known as the seven revolutions) that consider how our expanding world and communities are, and will be, impacted by the dichotomous nature of growth and advancement versus safety and sustainability. The CSIS researches these global patterns in search for plausible actions to address these challenges and their impact on both developed and developing nations, as well as contemporary 5 and future societies. These seven pressing issues are world population, available resources, technology, information and knowledge, world economy, security and conflict, and governance. The CSIS began this research in 1992 in effort to find strategies to address these international trends that have evolved into ever pressing global realities. Regarding the objectives of KSU first year seminars and the Seven Global Challenges, the combined themes of the two courses in this learning community will provide students with exposure to global and domestic issues intended to introduce a comprehensive understanding of intercultural competence and an acquisition of skills necessary for success in a global society. Through an interdisciplinary approach, students will participate in a series of modules, projects, critical thinking activities, and experiential learning opportunities aimed at generating awareness about Afro-Latino perspectives of identity in an American racial binary system. Learning Community participants will observe the “Multilevel Process Change Model of Intercultural Competence”3 to enhance the awareness of intercultural perspectives and transition to the levels of intercultural adaptation and integration. The intercultural component of this Learning Community will combine the global concepts of the KSU 1111 course with social awareness and identity theory. Through this lens, students will explore the social spaces of Afro-Latinos in either predominantly African American or non-black Latino societies in the United States. The curriculum content for the AADS 1102 course will explore whether Afro-Latinos, in effort to assimilate, are led to abandon their familiar cultural identities to adapt to their surroundings. Also, this section will examine the patterns of racial identification for Afro-Latinos, and whether those identities are chosen personally or if they are influenced by the societies the group or individual occupies. Are Latinos approaching                                                                                                                           3 Diana Deardorff. The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Competence. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications Inc., 2009: 31. 6 assimilation by strategically choosing when and where to be black or white versus Latino and how do these choices affect their ability to assimilate? By use of literary works, historical literature, music, and film, the content for the Learning Community will examine the legitimate social space for Afro-Latino identities in the United States, or whether these groups of Latinos are forced into a previously defined ethno- racial category; and if so, what are the societal implications? Additionally, this curriculum will explore whether Afro-Latinos are categorically viewed as just Latinos or simply black or white; and whether these categorizations are imposed externally as a subjective racial classification or as a self-identifiable means of positioning themselves at a higher social advantage in American societies. Through critical analysis, engaged classroom activities, and experiential learning opportunities, the AADS course will attempt to identify possible social advantages of the hybrid use of multiple identities. Students will consider whether the duality of ethno-racial identities is working to establish new racial categories or an expansion of the current binary platform in America. Is there an ongoing shift towards honorary racial categories determined by socio- economic factors versus skin color and physical characteristics? The course will analyze the social and political effects of the imposed categorization of Afro-Latinos and non-black Latinos in America. The two courses are designed to communicate with each other by generating critical discourse connecting the idea of culture and identity with the international trends associated with the seven global challenges. By enhancing their level of cross cultural competency, students will be able to draw connections between ethno-cultural perspectives and how they relate to international issues and the seven global challenges. 7 Starting points/Knowing your students Students have varying levels of socio-cultural exposure and experiences; thus, uniformly facilitating content does nothing to enhance the learning experience nor does it impact each learner in the same way. As the point of entry is different for each student, instructors must first understand who they are edifying for the real process of edification to take place. One must first know how to add if he or she is ever to be taught how to multiply; therefore, it becomes essential for an instructor who is introducing multiplication to have an estimate of the students who understand the foundational concept of addition. While this concept is both logical and appropriate in a mathematical framework, these same ideas are paramount in the humanities and social sciences where cultural competence is a clear driver for student success. Focusing on each learner’s unique set of needs allows the instructor to facilitate learning in a meaningful and impactful way. Identifying the socio-political needs of students is a critical component for creating an effective learning environment; however, it is equally critical for creating an inclusive society through which cultural identities can be authentically experienced and expressed. For Afro- Latinos, there are other significant socio-political needs, apart from cultural assimilation, that highlight the necessity of representation in the public sphere. By applying these pedagogical concepts to the lived experiences of oppressed groups, the cyclical learning process transcends the classroom space. Through his research, Boyd theorizes that “both a society and its history” heavily influence the epistemology that dictates the mores and behavior of the society and those who occupy it. Thus, the significance of racial assimilation for Latino immigrants in United States, where the classifications of “race and ethnicity have been co-defied to produce hierarchical strata that guide social behavior.” Often, these markers negatively define the class 8 structure and socio-positioning of the members within the society and the quality of life that accompanies it.4 Ultimately, the element of assimilation of Afro-Latino citizens and immigrants into the United States’ socio-political sphere appears to transcend well beyond mere cultural adaptation; it is, just as well, a space necessary for addressing the needs of these communities, which are dissimilar from the ones being addressed in already established cultural third spaces. Part 2: Afro-Latino Identities Watch the climate escalate to these ambiguous degrees Trying to figure out who I am and who they want me to be And it doesn’t really matter, as society perceives Their reality as truth towards whatever it believes And to their own interpretations of assumed identities So they can’t see the forest that they classified as trees When a person’s race is codified with one’s ethnicities Triple Consciousness The oppressed suffer from the duality which has established itself in their innermost being. They discover that without freedom they cannot exist authentically. Yet, although they desire authentic existence, they fear it. They are at one and the same time themselves and the oppressor whose consciousness they have internalized.5 Paulo Freire Professor of African Studies and Sociology, Petra Rivera analyses the hybridity by which Afro-Latinos navigate through American racial binaries. Through her review of Miriam Jiménez Román and Juan Flores’ The Afro Latin@ Reader, she explores Afro Latino racial ambiguity from an ethno-racial perspective. As Rivera describes, the Flores and Jimenez’ description of triple consciousness is directly aligned with W.E.B. Du Bois’ theory of double consciousness,                                                                                                                           4Antonio Olliz Boyd. The Latin American Identity and the African Diaspora: Ethnogenesis in Context. Amherst, NY: Cambria Press (2010): Introduction xxi. 4 Ibid. 4 Ibid, 43. 5  Paulo  Freire,  Pedagogy  of  the  Oppressed:  48.     9