A woman during a festival in Cali, Colombia. (Photo by Luis Robayo/AFP/Getty Images)
A petition has been created to include the word “Afro-Latina” in the dictionary. Poet Melania-Luisa Marte started the petition in hopes of bringing more visibility the term.
The suggested definition of the term as it appears on the petition is as follows:
“Af·ro | \ˈa-(ˌ)frō \ La·ti·na /ləˈtēnə/
noun
1: a woman or girl who is a native or inhabitant of Latin America of African ancestry.
2: a woman or girl of Latin American origin with African ancestry living in the U.S.”
It is surprising that the term isn’t already in the dictionary given that variations of Afro-Latino have been used (at least in academia) since as early as the 1960’s.
Also, in the middle of the beef between Cardi B and Nicki Minaj, a small but important exchange happened: Marte caught the attention of Dictionary.com and asked them to include “Afro-Latina” in the dictionary. They said they’d pass it along to reviewers.
Yes, Cardi B said “footages.” Yes, it’s a word. It’s also trending on https://t.co/OeJELgy3YL. https://t.co/iRNd3L8qsR https://t.co/Daw7JPn4SY
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) October 29, 2018
Hey, this would be a good time to include Afro-Latina, a common word, in your Dictionary.
Ex. Cardi B is an Afro-Latina.
— Melania-Luisa (@feministmami) October 30, 2018
Thanks for the suggestion! We’ll pass it along to our lexicographers for review!
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) October 30, 2018
