The Afro-Latin Diaspora: Awakening Ancestral Memory, Avoiding Cultural Amnesia
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About this ebook
This book
is Jameelah's contribution to avoiding Afro-Latin American cultural and
historical amnesia. This book highlights the many contributions of these
forgotten people of Latin America, including African and Afro-Latin American
heroes and freedom-fighters, religious and cultural traditions, and current
social issues of ethnic and cultural identity.
Jameelah Xóchitl Medina
Jameelah Xochitl Medina officially began her research of the Afro-Latin American community after competing for and winning one of three International Research Grants awarded by her college in 1997; her research led her to the Caribbean Coast of Panama for the summer. In 1999, Jameelah graduated Cum Laude from Claremont McKenna College (in Claremont, California) with a BA in Spanish. In 2001, she received her Master's in Education from Claremont Graduate University, also in the city of Claremont, California. From 1997 to 1998, Jameelah also studied Latin American and Spanish Literature at the University of Barcelona (UB) in Barcelona, Spain.
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Reviews for The Afro-Latin Diaspora
1 rating1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A very good resource for those interested in a overview of Afro-Latin culture. I hope the Medina does more research into more small people stories and the role of Afro-Latins in the fabric of the history of the Americas. When I read the book, I was pleasantly surprised that she took a broad approach to Afro-Latin culture (including Francophone black Caribbean along Spanish-speaking blacks). Her inclusion of interviews with Afro-Latinas made the end of the book compelling.
Book preview
The Afro-Latin Diaspora - Jameelah Xóchitl Medina
The Afro-Latín Diaspora:
Awakening Ancestral
Memory,
Avoiding Cultural Amnesia
Authored/By:
Jammeelah/XochítL Medina
© 2004 by Jameelah Xóchitl Medina. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted by any means, electrónic, mechanical, phótócópying, recórding,
or otherwise, without written permission from the author.
First published by AuthorHouse 04/09/04
ISBN: 1-4107-7598-4 (e-book)
ISBN: 1-4184-2859-0 (Paperback)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2003094866
This book is printed on acid free paper.
Printed in the United States of America
Bloomington, IN
Contents
Thank You
Dedication
Contribution/
Glossary
Chapter One: Introduction
Ancestral Memory
Part 1 Tribute To The Maroon Society
Chapter Two: African Resistance
Part 2 The African Spirit
Chapter Three: African Spirituality In America
Religions Of Resistance
Part 3 Historic Recuperation
Chapter Four: Afro-Latin American Communities And Societies
Chapter Five: The Labyrinth Of Ethnic Identity And Culture:. Afro-Latinos In The United States
Preface
Introduction
I. The Afro-Latino Of The Borderlands
A. Linguistic Borders
B. Nominal Borders
IIa. Choosing Sides: The Afro-Latino As Latino
Chapter Six: Conclusion
Appendix
Works Cited
About The Author
Image454.PNGThank You
I want to thank my Father and Mother, Mr. & Mrs. Sylvester McGill, as well as my brother, Xavier McGill. This book is a result of your love, support and belief in me and my contribution. I would never have published this without your help and loving push. I also give thanks to my ex-husband, Omar Bouchaib, whose soul is resting in peace now nshaAllah. You taught me so much about love and loss during your short time here on earth. Thank you, habib dyeli, Badre Aboubakr Hamimouch, for being the most wonderful gift in my life and for making my dreams come true, masha Allah. Ana dyelak.
I love you all very much.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to all the Afro-Latins of the Americas
who find themselves in a continuous battle, struggling to
illuminate their culture and history. Their objective is to enter
into the future with confidence, self-acceptance
and self-assurance, as well as with the bravery and valor of the many
forgotten Afro-Latin American heroes, the Maroons.
Ebe Yiye.
(The future will be better.)
Contribution/
Africa, Africa, Africa,
Great, green land and sun
In long mast lines
Black slaves were sent.
So tragic was the compass
Which guided our route.
So bitter were the dates
Which found our mouth.
The whíps have always split
Our backs of shrapnel
And with our agile hands
We played the guasa and bongo.
They shook their barbaric gifts
From the white people, those of today,
Their warm blood is invaded
By the colored race
Because the soul, the African one
That arrived in chains,
To this land of America
It gave cinnamon and fire…
Originally in Spanish and written by the Afro-Ecuadorian poet, Adalberto Ortiz
English translation by myself, Jameelah Xochitl Medina
Glossary
Afro-Latin American: the person of African descent, born and living in Latin America, regardless of which language (Spanish, French, English, Dutch, etc.) is spoken.
Afro-Latin: the person of Afro-Latin American descent, but was born and/or living outside of Latin America, specifically in North America. Not necessarily Spanish-speaking.
Maroon: fugitive slaves who created slave hideaways and formed free towns in the mountains, and also aided in the liberation of other slaves.
Quadroon: the person who is considered to be 1/4 Black
.
Mulatto: the person with one White parent and the other Black.
Zambo: the person who has one Black parent and the other Indigenous.
Palenque: The liberated community, free town, or slave hideaway usually in the mountains, which the Maroons established and based on a strong work ethic and according to African traditions.
Intrahistory: a term I use to refer to the unofficial unmanipulated story not told by the historic winners; the collective history and experiences of a people that, too often, are not told.
Indigenous/Indigenes: the original inhabitants of the Americas, often referred to as Indians.
Chapter One: Introduction
Ancestral Memory
Many of the greatest figures in history have said that knowing one’s history is of the utmost importance. In other words, it has also been stated that one must know where she has been in order to know and understand where she is going. This is precisely the impetus for my writing this book about the invisible and forgotten history of Afro-Latin Americans.
It is imperative that people everywhere, especially Black people, learn that our ancestors were not just