Over the weekend, as #BlackLivesMatter protests increased across the United States demanding an end to police brutality, in the Dominican Republic, Twitter users used the moment to reflect on racism within the country with the hashtag #PeroNoSomosRacistas (“But we are not racists”). The hashtag is meant to be ironic, taking on the myth of a post-racial society often touted by many across the globe whenever the issue of racism comes up. The hashtag confronts this by citing clear examples of antiblack racism.
Guys I'm so proud of Dominicans rn ? they got inspired in #BLACK_LIVES_MATTER & are trending in our country #PeroNoSomosRacistas (but we aren't racist) as a ironic hashtag while sharing how actually our country has racist issues against POC, Haitians & Asians IM TEARING UP
— ⁷caRMen ? ✊? #BLM (@ct_saldana) May 30, 2020
One of the earlier tweets was by Yohanan Nuñez, a popular Dominican scientist who busts myths tied to nature—this weekend he took the time to bust another kind of myth.
Yo recuerdo de muy niño preguntar a una de mis abuelas que porqué la muchacha negra que cocinaba en su casa tenía que comer fuera de la casa.
"el servicio no come con la gente".
Pero no somos racistas.
— The Naturalist (@NunezYohanan) May 30, 2020
#PeroNoSomosRacistas #PNSR https://t.co/1Zo6Ml1mqH
— Paoh! Targaryen? (@PaohGuerrero_) May 30, 2020
The hashtag eventually became the #1 trend in the country as others joined in, using examples of day-to-day discrimination, as well as systemic racism.
El hecho de que yo comencé a amar mi cabello después de que me muede de RD should tell you enough #peronosomosracistas https://t.co/h8ghsTya4V pic.twitter.com/tTcIqWjLxs
— TILY ?? (@ConcepionLia) May 30, 2020
Amenazan a periodistas, activistas y artistas por oponerse a desnacionalización.#PeroNoSomosRacistas
— Cristhian Manuel Jiménez (@cjimenezrd) May 30, 2020
“Yo no soy negro, soy color canela”
— Lylith (@lylithgarciap) May 30, 2020
“Y tu te va a casa con Candy? Mejor bucate a arguien pa arregla la raza.” #PeroNoSomosRacistas
— Danilo Menina (@DaniloMenina) May 30, 2020
Una vez a mi hermana le tocó exponer sobre Haití en la semana panamericana, y desde el momento en que dijo “Haití”, TODOS EN EL COLEGIO SE RIERON. #PeroNoSomosRacistas
— Ro Abreu (@rosee_abreu) May 30, 2020
No darme de alta en un hospital porque mi madre es de tez oscura y yo de tez clara. En palabras de una enfermera, “es que nadie se puede creer que esa morena sea tu mamá” #PeroNoSomosRacistas
— Edi Manuel G ? (@EdiManuelg) May 30, 2020
The hashtag was a sobering moment of openly discussing antiblackness, an issue within the predominantly-black country that is perpetuated by a history of oppression—and by the elite. Just last year, a woman was fired from the country‘s Ministry of Education when she launched a campaign in support of natural afro-textured hair. About a week after the incident, women across the country started an online campaign posing with their natural hair and showing their black pride. These are just some of many ongoing examples of how Dominicans within the country and across the globe are shifting the narratives around race.
Over this past weekend, some of the messages were about calling out racism while also celebrating la negritud.
"y eso moño muchacha? Alisate, vete pal salón"
"ahora si es verdad que pareces haitiana con ese pajon"
"tu no puedes entrar así aquí con eso moño"
"buscate alguien que refine la familia" #PeroNoSomosRacistas pic.twitter.com/tVSAFv6uJi— Warrior Bloody (@WarriorBloody) May 30, 2020
The tweets sent a powerful message during a time when black communities are demanding justice: las vidas negras importan.
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Amanda Alcántara is the Digital Media Editor at Futuro Media. She tweets from @YoSoy_Amanda.
Cuando cumplí los 16 años en la Repùblica Dominicana, mi madre se aseguró de sacarme la cédula, el documento obligatorio de identificación nacional. En la columna sobre la raza, el color de mi piel es descrito como indio claro; pero yo soy más prieto que el café colao’. Al llegar a E.U. me enteré que era negro al tener que llenar documentos y formularios y tener que poner mi raza y color. Al no ver mi “clasificación racial” en un formulario para el programa en high school del
ROTC , el coordinador me dijo que yo era negro.
Que, qué? No estaba consciente de mi raza y color real de mi piel. Mi país es uno de los pocos en el mundo que reniega de sus raíces y niega ferozmente su negritud.
[…] “Over the weekend, as #BlackLivesMatter protests increased across the United States demanding an end to police brutality, in the Dominican Republic, Twitter users used the moment to reflect on racism within the country with the hashtag #PeroNoSomosRacistas (“But we are not racists”). The hashtag is meant to be ironic, taking on the myth of a post-racial society often touted by many across the globe whenever the issue of racism comes up. The hashtag confronts this by citing clear examples of antiblack racism.” from Latino Rebels: Dominicans Use Hashtag #PeroNoSomosRacistas to Call Out Myths About Discrimination. […]