I no Black, I Dominican: Dominican Blackness in the & Latin American Imaginary

Senior Thesis

Presented to

The Faculty of the School of Arts and Sciences Brandeis University

Department of African and Afro-American Studies and Latin American and Studies Program Derron Wallace, Advisor Faith Smith, Advisor

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts

By Arlett Marquez May 2021

Copyright by Arlett Marquez

Committee Members:

Faith Smith: ______

Derron Wallace: ______

Gregory Childs: ______

Acknowledgements

I dedicate this thesis to the women in my life: Julia Marquez, Ana Marquez, Ruth Marquez, Luz

Marquez, Dorca Marquez, Damaris Marquez, and Julivic Marquez. They have offered me invaluable wisdom, lessons, and support which I will always take with me throughout my life. I take pride in their journeys and only wish to honor their stories in the best way possible.

I want to thank my thesis advisors, Professor Faith Smith and Professor Derron Wallace for taking the time to guide me through this work and for encouraging me to use my voice throughout this project. I want to thank Professor Gregory Childs for being a part of my committee and for being so influential to my work. I am grateful for Madeleine Lopez and Tara

Whitehurst, who go above and beyond when it comes to supporting students on this campus.

Thankful for the Intercultural Center, which provided me a to write this thesis.

Additionally, I want to thank Professor Chad Williams who welcomed me in my first AAAS class freshman year which began my journey in the AAAS department. All of the folks mentioned above have been instrumental in my intellectual and personal growth while at

Brandeis and I have such immense gratitude to have been able to learn from them.

I also want to thank my friends, who have had to listen to me talk endlessly about my thesis this year but always took time to give their support and input. Lastly, I want to give a shout out to all of the Black students and students of color who have given their labor to make this university safer for us. I am inspired by my peers and I feel so blessed to have been able to build relationships with so many intelligent, creative, and beautiful people.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Disrupting the Narrative: Afro Latines ……………. 1 Concepts and Terms…………………………………………... 2 Are you Black?...... 6 What Do We Check Off?...... 7 Mapping Latinidad: Mestizaje & Racialization………………. 11 Latinos Unidos: The Construction of the Latine Identity in the U.S. …………………………………………………………… 14 There Is No Room for Us Here………………………………... 16 Methodology: The Self, The Sound, and The Social…………...20

Chapter 2: Desde la Cuna, Agradecida de Esta Negrura: Dominican Blackness on the Main Stage………………………………………. 22 In , Dominicans are the Black Ones……………… 24 Following the Script: The State…………….….………………. 27 ‘Unofficial’ Narratives……………………………...……….… 31 Demasiado Negro: The People………………………………….33 No Tienes Que Entenderlo……………………………………... 37

Chapter 3: I am not Black and Latina, I am a Black Latina: Black Womanhood within Latinidad…………………………………….... 40 Ni Aquí, Ni allá: ‘Recovering’ Black Latinas in Decolonial Black Feminist Discourse………………………………...……. 43 Afro-Latina: a myth, a folktale: Negotiations of Blackness and Gender in the …