feature: afro-cuban/dominican womanist and writer juliana pache starts #blacklatinxhistory hashtag

Juliana Pache is the Afro-Cuban/Dominican singer and womanist writer behind the #BlackLatinXHistory hashtag that emerged on Twitter to include the stories and accomplishments of Afro-Latinx people. “Latinx”, pronounced La-teen-ex, is a gender-neutral term meant to include people who don’t necessarily fit the gender binary. “On the morning of February 1, I saw posts about Black History Month, and out of curiosity, I looked at the social media accounts of a few Latinx blogs and magazines, and saw that they hadn’t posted anything about Black History Month. Now, it was February 1, and it was the morning, so, granted, they may have just not posted yet. But I noticed on one of the accounts, they somehow managed to post a picture and article about a non-Latinx white woman that morning. I was low-key infuriated. Not because there was a white woman getting representation, but because we got none. What this said to me, whether unintentional or not, was that, a white face has a greater chance of being represented on the morning of February 1, than a Black one,” Pache told intersectional blog Ain’t I Latina?

While the reach of African Diaspora is wide-spread, the acknowledgment of it’s people, particularly those of mixed and Latinx heritage, is dismal to non-existent. By creating this hashtag, Juliana is making space in the Black History conversation to include these underrepresented black identities and histories.

By Erin White*, AFROPUNK contributor

Photo: By Lauren McDowell

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*Erin White is an Atlanta-based writer and AFROPUNK’s editorial and social media assistant. You can follow her on Tumblr or friend her on Facebook. Have a pitch or an inquiry? Shoot her an email at erin@afropunk.com.