No, I Don't Speak Spanish and I Don't Speak Black

Please, if you are Hispanic or African-American, please do not be offended by what you are about to read. What I say is based off personal experience and observation and is not a generalization of either race.

Recently, I finally watched Crazy Rich Asians, which I must say if you haven't watched it please do. Not only will it make you feel incredible poor (but don't forget you're still rich with life), but it also brings forward inter-minority racism and same race exclusions. Just so you have a quick definition before I get into it, inter-minority racism is prejudice that only occurs between minority (i.e. Asians vs. Blacks or Blacks vs Hispanics).

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Young, my dad and mom or also known as mi padre y madre. You can probably tell very quickly that they are not of the same race. Technically my dad is half Mexican and half Black and my mom is full Mexican, even though she's a little more light skinned. Now that you see what two great looking adults created myself, we can dive into some of the prejudice experiences we've lived with being a mixed family.

Same Race Exclusion

If you haven't watched Crazy Rich Asians, you may want to skip this paragraph to avoid spoilers. Really you can get the idea from the trailers, but I don't want to get a comment about ruining the movie for someone, so save yourself now. The movie really has nothing to do with Rachel not coming from a rich upbringing. The reason the Young family (no not my family) is so against her marrying China's bachelor, Henry, is because she is not "Chinese", but Chinese American. Looks like everyone else, even speaks the language, familiar with the culture, but because she was not raised in China, she's an outsider.

Many of you may be familiar with this type of prejudice within the Asian community, but trust me it exist in every other race including Hispanic and African cultures. For my whole life I was told "oh you're not really Mexican" or "you're not really Black" because I was not fully of each. Three quarters Mexican and a quarter Black to be exact. However, even with those factors, I was sometimes not seen as either and instead called "white washed" since I didn't "act" Mexican nor Black.

First off, I don't speak Spanish. Yes I have tried, but I don't practice enough to become fluent. This is probably the biggest issue when intermingling with other Hispanics, including my very own family. I am very in-tune with my Hispanic culture as most of my young life was spent with the Mexican side of my family. So cooking, house rules, the Chancla and all your other Mexican household norms I lived through. However, being NOT FULLY MEXICAN and not speaking Spanish has kept my Hispanic family and friends at arms length.

As for the Black side, I have never had the chance to meet a lot of my cousins on my dad's side because they're all in Kansas and Oklahoma. My dad also grew up away from this family and in a split household between my Mexican Grandma and Black Grandpa. So by the time the black culture was presented to me and my brother, you can say it was a little watered down. If I had a dime for every time I was told "you're not "Black" Black" or "you don't sound Black" (which is probably the most ignorant thing to say) I would have enough money to fly myself First Class out to Kansas for a family reunion.

Before I move on, let me get this off my chest real quick. There is no "sounding Black", but there is such a thing as slang and speaking with incorrect grammar. WHICH YOU DON'T JUST HEAR FROM BLACK PEOPLE! This is a lack of education, not due to race, so that means any person can speak this way.

I have to say growing up not feeling as if I belonged to either side has cause identification issues for myself. These prejudice shots coming from both sides have made me feel embarrassed to do anything remotely Mexican or Black. For example, when I order food in Spanish, all of a sudden I'm called out for "acting Mexican", when it's not an "act". It's not as if I denied both cultures, but it's definitely felt like they both deny me at times.

Inter-minority Racism

Now it's not just the fact that I don't follow my culture's norm that has excluded me at times, but the fact that I am not fully 100% either or. I use to have an ex-boyfriend who would point this out too as if I were tainted. "I am a pure bed Mexican" he would say, which is such a douche thing to say. First off, only dogs that cost over $2,000 can be "pure bred" and second that's absolutely impossible! Christopher Columbus made sure of that, so if you think you are fully 100% of anything go buy yourself a 23andMe or Ancestry. You'll learn quickly how immigration and colonizing has effected our world over time.

However, being of another race has also caused me issues and if I am being honest most of the racist comments I got was from Mexicans towards my Black side. I remember the first time I got called the N-word sophomore year of high school. When being asked for the millionth time "what are you", and after my answer to have my Mexican classmate say "oh so you're a N****? Where do you get your N****side from, you're mom or dad?" I am so glad I cared about not being expelled, because I wanted to punch this kid in the face.

Not only did I have people call me out for being Black, but I remember being told not to tell people I was Black, but Brazilian because that was supposedly better.

This seems to put a lot of heat on Mexicans, but it did come from both sides, just not as often or as hurtful. For a long time I've tried to figure out why neither my Black side or Mexican side could be accepting of me and I honestly believe it's because both have pride in being a minority. Which we should, because we have and still continue to overcome a lot of adversity for being a minority in the US.

We've Both Been Though the Struggle

I could be wrong, but from some of the research I've read, it's as if all minorities have this chip on their shoulder. It's almost as if there's a debate that exist arguing over who has had the hardest struggle in America. Now I won't say which is worse, because this country still continues to give minorities hardship is completely unacceptable overall.

So the biggest lesson I want all my friends and family whom are minorities (or even if you're not) to take away is: Stop fighting each other, when this country is already against us. Learn to accept those of another race or races, because all they do is bring more diversity to existing cultures.

I mean who would say no to having a wife who can cook fried chicken and albondigas. Just saying.