On the term “Latino/a/x”

Our organization abstains from the use of the term “Latino/a/x” because we hold that:

The term perpetuates the false notion that “Latino”, or Hispanic, is an exclusive racial classification as opposed to a cultural/linguistic designation – a notion which itself perpetuates the falsehood that racism is not endemic in the former Spanish colonies along with their diasporas and belies the anti-blackness that permeates them.  

It ironically titularly invokes the Spanish invaders of the Americas as the reference point to describe the victims of their brutal conquest, namely the indigenous peoples of this hemisphere and enslaved Africans, respectively, who actually shaped the core of what is popularly understood as “Latin” culture;

Similarly, “Latinidad” as a cultural, historical, and linguistic construct coopts or mutes indigeneity in favor of incorrectly amplifying Iberian culture as the unifying principle of “Latin America”.

“Latinidad” also obfuscates the histories, identities, legacies, struggles, and triumphs of African peoples in the former Spanish colonies.  

As such, BlackPrint employs the terms “descendants of African and/or indigenous descent” (DAIP) generally and “survivors of the Spanish conquest in the Americas” more specifically as, what we deem, more accurate, appropriate, and honorable classifications of persons currently labeled as “Latino/a/x”. We may also refer to this diverse historical, linguistic, and regional group as “people(s) from the former Spanish colonies” or variations that are thematically consistent with that or the other two above terms.