DISTINGUISHING RACE & ETHNICITY

HISPANIC VS. LATINX adopt more gender-neutral terms in the ways we speak (similar to adopting the singular “they” pronoun or the Often used interchangeably, these terms refer to two term “chair” instead of “chairman” in English). Linguists slightly different, but often related identities. The term also point out that the -x in Latinx makes a political “Hispanic” refers to those whose native language is statement that, historically signifies resistance to the Spanish and/or who descended from those of Span- mainstream. ish-speaking populations. “Latinx” refers to those who are from or are descendants of people from Latin Amer- ica. Not every country in Latin America was colonized THE RACIAL DIVERSITY OF HISPANIC/ by the Spanish. For example, Brazil’s official language LATINX PEOPLE is Portuguese and Haiti’s and French Guiana’s are French. Anyone from Central or South America or the Recent conversations about race, colorism and privi- Caribbean may identify as Latinx. lege have emphasized the importance of recognizing the difference between race and ethnicity and being Hispanic refers to language — an element of culture, aware of the racism that Afro-Latinxs and other indi- which makes it similar to an ethnicity, or a group of viduals with darker skin face. Not everyone who identi- people who share a common culture. Even still, many fies as Hispanic/Latinx have the same experiences in different ethnic groups with very different cultures can regards to race and culture. identify as Hispanic. Just think: People from Argenti- na, the Dominican Republic and Mexico are diverse in DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR EMPLOYEES culture, but share common language. On many U.S. documents, “Hispanic” and “Latinx” are denoted as Q• How can a misunderstanding regarding the differ- “races." While many people view these identities as ra- ences between Hispanic and Latinx and their racial cial, many still check the Hispanic/Latinx box and note relevance lead to feelings of alienation? an additional race. • How can we create a workplace that honors and celebrates the complexities of identity? In the U.S., Hispanic and Latinx people are often asso- • How do racism and colorism affect Hispanic and ciated with having “brown” skin and many do consider Latinx people of African descent disproportionately Latinx to be their primary race. Hispanic and Latinx peo- to Hispanic and Latinx people of European descent? ple can be descendants of Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South American Indigenous people, or any com- bination of these. Some Black Hispanic/Latinx people identify as Afro-Caribbean or Afro-Latinx.

The term Latinx — as opposed to Latino or Latina — was coined by academic circles and offers a gender-neutral alternative to the gendered grammar of the Spanish language, which ends adjectives with either feminine -a or masculine -o endings. With the LGBTQ movement drawing attention to nonbinary or genderqueer individu- als who do not identify as either male or female, “Lat- inx” acknowledges the intersection, or combination, of being LGBTQ and of Latin American descent.

Many news outlets have already adopted use of the term into their stylebooks. While some argue this amending of the language erases an element of Span- ish-speaking culture, it is part of a larger movement to javi_indy/Shutterstock.com

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