This was a response I wrote to a woman who thought that because she was Dominican she couldnt also be considered to be Black. And Dominican chick, I ve been reading your posts back and forth with the nutjobs here. You re basically debating with the race hating guys who sit home and wonder how come white girls dont like them(when these guys have no redeeming qualities, its all race this and that. And dont be fooled there ar some women talking that same shit. The black guys always talk to them, why? I mean we all like big butts but if you look like a burro what the fu....?). But DB, I think you r black. I think most Dominicans are black, even the mixed ones(I have the same sentiments for Porto Ricans-who I consider the most mixed up people with respect to identity and pride in themselves, but I ll save that for a future rant.) I mean, I m black and you are darker than some of my cousins, and I m sure that your sister/s are darker than some of my family members also. I think you like most Dominicans & Boricuas deny being black because of the derogation you place on it. Oddly enough Cubans dont do that. Thats why i understand it. My wife is Dominican. She could pass for white, her mother was white. I mguessing like a Polish or Eastern European type of white women. Who knows? My mother in law is like 78 years old, but shes white. They live in Provincia La Vega, Ayuntamiento Moca por los Montanas Ciabo. OK, so my wife could pass for white, but her brothers(9 of them) couldnt. They are the same color my cousins that live in Boston are. Actually the same color my son is, when he was born, a sort of high yellow. Now my brother in laws children couldnt pass for white no matter what. They are most assuredly black, light skin black(lets say, like NELLY), they are DOminican also, like yourself, born here with Dominican parents. But my sister in law as light skin as she may be, apparently had dark eggs(thats a rhetorical euphemism, I dont mean she had DARK eggs, but the complexion of their children isnt reflective in their skin color). So basically, here in America, you can be what you want to be. You dont want to be black, thats cool. You want to be Hasidim? OK. The curly locks, 9 kids and beat up minivan and no deodorant dont work for me, but its love you know? Now about the work ethic of black people dont be misconstrued. Thats what you see in NY and other large cities. In the suburbs its the other way around. People who dont have any established networks dont have the same emphasis on labor participation. You know this is true. Look at the Pennsylvania boards. The same way you fel about the black people in NYC, however you feel, those white people in those small old cities despise you just as well. They hate you for changing the workforce, the housing market and also putting poverty and complexity of community in their faces. They had an essentially all white community with no crime(subjective statement at best), standardized school system(weak and uncompetitive), pretty houses(weak and uncompetitive), and jobs(same as the 2 prior). Dominicans, Porto Ricans, Ecuadorians move in change the atmosphere of the neighborhood, even though being legal(some may be illegal, except PRs) they bring a lot of cultural differences with them. Them white people dont want to deal with it. If they did they would have moved or stayed in Philadelphia. ANyway, to these people they would conceive you to be black, but a black person speaking spanish. You would tell them your Dominican, but thats like telling them you re a Lutheran. They would have no idea where the hell that place is or what it means. Is that a religious sect(it is)? A location(it is)? Whats Dominican? My aunt thought Santo Domingo was in Colombia? My good friends wife never heard of Santo Domingo(and she claims to be Porto Rican-tells you how stupid she is). I try not to get into this conversation because i know how YOU want to be perceived, but this is how you will be perceived by people outside Dominican or Caribbean neighborhoods. In Los Angeles, I m sure they would see you as Dominican, Latina and Black. I think if more Dominicans were to see themselves as black it could lead to more prosperity and better political alignment. But by denying the "Blackness" so to speak, I just think it will lead to cultural, financial and political isolation. Dominicans are the largest immigrant group in NYC right now and it is projected than within the next 20 years they would be the poorest(that was projected during the 2000 Census, but with the influx of Mexicans who knows right now). Areas like Washington Heights, Bushwick, Jackson Heights and the South Bronx are subject to gentrification as owners KNOW that white people will pay more for housing than other groups can even consider. If you cant afford to stay, whatcha going to do? You can go to Jersey, for a minute. But when it happens there what s next? Think about it? Places in Union City, Jersey City and North Bergen are just as expensive as places in Midtown. Then where? Upstate? Albany? Syracuse? Pittsburgh? It can be done, but more than likely you will lose your identity as a Dominican(this is my beef with Porto Ricans. They have so much pride about being Porto RIcan but know nothing about it.)