The Transracialization of the African-American Spanish Speaker
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AFRO-AMERICANO: THE TRANSRACIALIZATION OF THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN SPANISH SPEAKER by JOHN M. FLANAGAN A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Latin American, Iberian and Latino Cultures in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2020 © 2020 JOHN M. FLANAGAN All Rights Reserved ii Afro-Americano: The Transracialization of the African-American Spanish Speaker by John M. Flanagan This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Latin American, Iberian and Latino Cultures in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy April 20, 2020 Cecelia Cutler ___________________ _____________________________________________ Date Chair of Examining Committee April 20, 2020 Carlos Riobó ___________________ _____________________________________________ Date Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: José del Valle Miki Makiha ra THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT Afro-Americano: The Transracialization of the African-American Spanish Speaker by John M. Flanagan Advisor: Cecelia Cutler Transracialization is not a biological term connoting the change of one’s skin tone to become a member of a different race. Its definition has its roots in racialization—the ideological process that describes how one assembles ideas about groups based on their race and decides, for example, what a ‘Black’ person is and how ‘Black’ people speak. Thus, transracialization is a linguistic term that describes the political and sociocultural act of recontextualizing one’s phenotype with the use of language, and in so doing, upending the observers’ stereotypical expectations of who one is (Alim 2016). This dissertation deals with how Spanish influences and transforms the identity of minoritized groups like African-Americans in the U.S. context. I define the term ‘Afro-Americano’ as a/an Black/African-American who has lived a Hispanic/Latinx experience in the United States, most notably demonstrated by a proficiency in the Spanish language and affiliation and/or participation in the cultural practices of one or more Hispanic/Latinx cultures. This study interviewed and analyzed African-Americans (in both multi ethnic urban communities as well as on social media platforms like YouTube) who are modifying definitive racial labels and boundaries by becoming pedagogues of Spanish, speaking the language in their homes, communities, schools and jobs. The main questions that the project seeks to answer are; 1. How do daily interactions in conversational Spanish shape the lives of African-Americans? 2. How do these speakers perceive themselves in relation to Hispanics and iv other African-Americans and vice-versa? 3. Do Afro-Americanos consciously use their Black bodies in service of a transraced identity and if so, how? and 4. How does racialization manifest and become challenged at the racio/ethno/linguistic 3-way intersection between Blackness, African-American ethnicity, and the Spanish language. The four major themes that emerged in the analysis as crucial to understanding African-Americans who occupy transracialized identities are: motivation in Spanish language acquisition, the ‘shocked’ reactions of interlocutors, the mechanics of transracialization and the repertoire of identities, and Afro-Americanismo as an agent of social and political change. v ACKNOWLEDGEMETNS First, I would like to attempt the impossible task of articulating how grateful I am to Dr. José del Valle. In the fall of 2013, I was a displaced high-school Spanish teacher with a vision of the direction I wanted my career to take. José was gracious enough to see the potential in me. His overall intelligence and knowledge about Spanish, languages, history, and politics is a road map for my self-development, both personally and professionally. Without his powerful influence during the first semesters of this Ph.D. program, I would not have grown into the academic I have become. José is truly a remarkable professor that I am blessed to have worked with. In Lunenberg and Irby’s (2008) work, Writing a successful thesis or dissertation: Tips and strategies for students in the social and behavioral sciences, they mention two key factors that are the most important issues to consider when choosing a dissertation adviser: the accessibility and feedback turnaround times of the professor. I could not be more grateful that I asked Dr. Cecelia Cutler to be my dissertation adviser. Over the course of this years-long process, we’ve discussed my proposal at The Graduate Center, talked about IRB guidelines over coffee at 61 Local in Brooklyn, talked on the phone, emailed, and texted at a moment’s notice about every draft of every chapter in this dissertation. Not only did Professor Cutler go above and beyond in the areas of accessibility and feedback, but she also was able to help me articulate and fine tune a vision and strategy for my work going forward. I credit a tremendous amount of the ideological underpinnings of this dissertation to Dr. Miki Makihara’s seminar on Language Ideologies. The reading I accomplished in her class gave me an incredible and comprehensive exposure to areas of sociolinguistics that later became necessary for exploring this topic. It was under Professor Makihara’s guidance that I deepened vi my thinking about how the knowledge of Spanish has shaped my life path and identity as an African-American. Throughout every stage of my life, my parents have continued to support my decisions with their steadfast love. I relied heavily on their support system during the challenging months of the writing process. The blessing of having parents that always ‘got my back’ has allowed me to flourish. Lastly, I’d like to thank my Creator for an incredible journey through my inner world over the past six years, and for helping me find my peace, my joy, and my voice. vii CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………..……..……..xi LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………………...……xii CHAPTER 1 Introduction…………………………………………….……………...……….…1 1.0 Afro-Americano…………………………………………………...………………1 1.1 African-Americans as chameleons…………………………………..……………3 1.2 “Changing the often veiled and subconscious ways in which people perceive and decide what a Black person is…”…………………………………..…….……….5 CHAPTER 2 Literature Review……………….…….…………………………………………11 2.0 Introduction to literature review…………………………………………………11 2.1 The education of the Afro-Americano: A two-step approach— Dual language immersion and parent involvement……………………………...12 2.2 Afro-Americano: A process of transracialization. A shifting state of mind is a shifting identity……………………………………18 2.3 The Black body as an agent of change…………………………………………..27 2.4 Upending expectations: the language of emergence……………...……………..35 2.5 Conclusions…………………………….………………………………………..39 CHAPTER 3 Methodology………………….……………………………………………...….40 3.0 Introduction to methodology…….………………………………………………40 3.1 Locating the Researcher………………………………………………………….41 3.2 The Communities…………………….…………………………………….…….45 3.3 Recruiting Subjects…………………………………...………………………….45 viii 3.4 The 20 Participants……………………………………………………...……….48 3.5 Ethnographic techniques and methods……………………………………….…..48 3.6 The Interviews……………………………………………………...…………....50 3.7 Preliminary Interview Questions………………………………………………...51 3.8 The Observations…………………………………………………………….…..53 3.9 Digital Journals…………………………………………………………………..56 3.10 Networked Multilingualism & Social Media…………………………………….58 3.11 Online Ethnography………………………………………………………...……60 3.12 Protecting the identity of subjects………………………………………………..63 3.13 The intersection of ‘Black’ and ‘Spanish’: objects vs. constructs…………….....64 CHAPTER 4 Discussion of Data……………………………………………….………………66 4.1 Motivation and the Spanish Language Acquisition of the Afro-Americano……..67 4.1A Positive experiences in school and the community……………………………...67 4.1B Proximity Effects…………………………………………………………...……73 4.1C Motivation and Learning Spanish through Media………………………….……78 4.1D Romantic Encounters with Spanish Speakers………………………………..…..85 4.1E Passing as Latinx/Hispanic……………………………………………………....88 4.2 Shocked: The Unexpected Emergence of Blackness in Spanish-Speaking Spaces…………………………………………...……………………………….93 4.2A Latinx/Hispanic Reactions to Afro-Americanismo…………………………..…..93 4.2B African-American Reactions to Afro-Americanismo………………………………104 4.3 Afro-Americanismo: The process of transracialization and the repertoire of identities……………………………………………….……………….……….107 4.3A Are you ‘Black’ or ‘Spanish?’………………………………………………….107 ix 4.3B Afro-Americanismo and Self-Development………………………………….…114 4.3C Positioning: Navigating the Latinx/Hispanic World as an Afro-Americano...…119 4.3D Afro-Americanismo and Gay Male Sexuality…………………………………..126 4.4 Afro-Americanismo as an Agent of Change…………………………………….133 4.5 Conclusion: Are you Afro-Americano?...............................................................144 CHAPTER 5 The Networked Multilingualism of Afro-Americanos on YouTube……………147 5.1 Constructing a transracial ethnolinguistic identity while, “Not trying to be something I’m not.” ………………………………………………...………….149 5.2 Establishing Relationships: community building through networked multilingualism on social media………………………………………………..164 5.3 Second Language Acquisition: teaching and learning………………...………..175 5.4 Transracial Afro-Americanos on YouTube: reactions from viewers…………...185 5.5 Conclusion…………………………………………………………..………….209 CHAPTER 6 Conclusion………………...……………………………………………………213 6.1 Chapter by chapter