Page 9 - Reflections on the Danger of a Single Story

Being a gay latino man, specifically, a gay afro-dominican, is going against the societal grain and expectations of the Latino Community. Being told what I could do, what I should feel, how I should act, and who I was allowed to like are all part of the single story I was forced to follow for many years. Being an educator adds another layer to my equation. The single story about my public identity is that of a single heterosexual man. I am not able to express who I am and what I stand for at work and in my community for fear of retaliation, violence, isolation, and disapproval. I know that some parts of my community will be/is welcoming to people in similar circumstances as myself, and that I can choose to rebel and live my truth, however, I am not there yet. I weigh my options and believe that being public about my identity in my school community comes with undesirable consequences and comments that others might feel entitled to say despites NOT being asked their opinions. There is a layer of fear in me that parents biases will infiltrate my classroom and taint their children perceptions of me; clouding their judgement and displacing their focus away from what I am able to teach them.
Being born in the Dominican Republic and growing up in the Bronx, one hears stories about black people. There is a racist saying in Spanish that goes “el negro, si no la hace a la entrada, la hace a la salida,” this roughly translates to “a black person, if they do not screw up at the beginning, they will screw up at the end.” This is part of the single story I would constantly hear around me about blackness and how it was tied to failure and malice. Despite my family being black, they still continue part of this narrative. I believe their thinking is tied to a larger societal racism and prejudice around all things black. However, what I believe my family was unable to differentiate or articulate (due to ignorance) was that some of the characteristics ascribed to black people, whether they are Haitian or African Americans, or Dominican, has nothing to do with ethnicity but rather poverty. Often what I would hear my family criticize “black people” about was something I could identify, not only in my own family, but in others facing similar situations. For me, going to college opened my eyes to how systematic poverty and racism affects our communities and this is often something that is misconstrued with traits or characteristics ascribed to ethnicities. We are products of the unfair laws that govern our larger society. Laws that have created generational disadvantage that predominantly have affected people of color around the world.
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