Dominican and Black People
At the end of the day, Dominicans and Black Americans share a deep, unspoken understanding. We both know what it’s like to be profiled at the airport for “looking suspicious” while carrying a backpack. We both have grandmothers who heal everything with a mix of prayers, herbs, and a wooden spoon. And we both invented completely new cultures out of stolen lives. A Dominican can drop a reggaeton beat, and a Black American can flow over it with a verse about police brutality—and it works because we’ve lived the same story with different accents.
So next time someone asks, “Are Dominicans Black?” just smile and say, “Everyone’s Black until they need a visa.” And then order some mofongo while blasting Aventura and Kendrick Lamar. The ancestors are laughing—and they’re probably dancing.