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The Tribulations of Blackness: Stages in Dominican Racial IdentityAuthor(s): Silvio Torres-SaillantSource: Latin American Perspectives, Vol. 25, No. 3, Race and National Identity in theAmericas (May, 1998), pp. 126-146Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2634170 .
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The Tribulations fBlackness
Stages n Dominican acial dentity
by
Silvio
Torres-Saillant
Los blancos, morenos,/Cobrizos,ruzados/Marchandoerenos,/Unidos
osados,
La Patria alvemos/De iles tiranos/Yl mundomostremos/Queomos
hermanos.
-Juan Pablo Duarte
Dominicanocietys the radle fblackness
n
theAmericas. he sland
of
Hispaniola
r Santo
Domingo,
which
Dominicans
harewith
Haitians,
served sport f ntryothe
irst
fricanlaves
o
etfoot nSpain's
newly
conquered
erritories
ollowing hristopher
olumbus's
ventfulransatlan-
ticvoyage n 1492. Nineyears nto heconquest f what henceforward
became
known s
the New
World,King
Ferdinand
nd
Queen
Isabella
appointed rayNicolas
de Ovando
governorf
Santo
Domingo,
uthorizing
him
o bring black laves"
o their
olony Saco, 1974: 164). Marking he
start f
the black
experience
n
the western
emisphere,
he arrival f
Ovando's
fleet
n
July
502
ushered
n
a social
nd
demographicistory
hat
would ead
n
the ourse ffive enturies
o
the
verwhelmingresence
f
people
of African escent
n
the
Dominican
Republic oday.'
Blacks and
mulattos
ake
up nearly 0 percent fthe ontemporaryominican opu-
lation. et,
oother
ountry
n
he
emisphere
xhibits
reater
ndeterminacy
regardinghepopulation'senseofracial dentity.o thebewildermentf
outside
bservers,
fro-Dominicansave
traditionally
ailed o
flaunt
heir
blackness s a collective anner o
advance
conomic, ultural,
r
political
causes. omecommentators
ould
ontend,
n
effect,
hat ominicans
ave,
for
he
most
art,
enied heir lackness.
aced
with he
population's
oler-
SilvioTorres-Saillanteaches
n
he
nglish epartment
t
Hostos
ommunityollege
ndheads
the
CUNY
Dominican
tudies
nstitutet
CityCollege.
He
is the
uthor f
Caribbean
oetics
andcoauthor
f
TheDominican mericansWestport:reenwood,
n
press).
LATIN AMERICAN
PERSPECTIVES,
ssue
100,
Vol.25 No.
3, May
1998 126-146
C
1998 LatinAmerican
erspectives
126
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Torres-Saillant
DOMINICAN
RACIAL DENTITY 127
ance
of official laims ssertinghe
moral nd intellectual
uperiorityf
Caucasiansby
white
upremacist
deologues, nalysts
f
racial dentity
n
Dominican
ociety ave ftenmputed
oDominicans eavy oses
of back-
wardness,"
ignorance,"
r
"confusion"
egarding
heir ace andethnicity
(Fennema
nd
Loewenthal,
989: 209; Saga's, 993).
would iketo nvite
reflection
n
the omplexity
f
racial
hinkingnd
racialdiscoursemong
Dominicans
with hepurpose f urging
he doption
f discretearadigms
in
attempts
o explicate
he
place
of black consciousness
n Dominican
societyndculture.
BLACKNESS
AND THE
DOMINICAN STATE
A
large
part f
the
problem
f racial
dentity
mongDominicanstems
from
he act hat romts
nception
heir ountry
adto negotiatehe acial
paradigms
f
heir orth
mericannd
European
verseers.
he
Dominican
Republic
ame nto eing
s a
sovereign
tate n February7, 1844,
when
the olitical
eaders
feastern
ispaniola
roclaimed
heiruridical epara-
tion romheRepublic fHaiti, uttingnend o22years funificationnder
a black-controlled
overnment
ith ts
seat
n
Port-au-Prince.he Haitian
leadershipriginally
esisted he dea
of
relinquishing
uthorityverthe
whole
sland nd made successive ttempts
o
regain
he astern
erritory,
which
esulted
n
sporadic
rmed lashesbetween
aitian nd Dominican
forces
ntil 855.
As the
newly
reated aribbean
epublic
ought
o nsert
itself
nto n
economic
rder ominatedy
Western owers,mong
which
"the
racial
magination"
ad
long
since taken
firm
old,
the
race
of
Dominicans uickly
ecame an
issue
of concern
Torres-Saillant,
993:
33-37).
n
December 844,
near he
ndofPresident ohn
yler's
dminis-
tration,.S. SecretaryfStateJohn . Calhoun pokeof theneedfor he
fledgling
ominican
tate o
receive
ormal
ecognition
rom
he United
States,
rance,
nd
Spain
o
prevent
the urther
pread
f
negro
nfluence
n
theWest
ndies"
Welles,
966[1928]:
6).
As would
many
ther merican
statesmen
nd
ournalistshroughout
henineteenth
entury,
alhoun
on-
ceived
fDominicans
s other
han lack.
When
n
1845
American
gent
John
ogan
arrived
n
Santo
Domingo
with hemandate fassessing
he
ountry
or
n
eventual
ecognition
f ts
independence,
e
sidedwith ominicans
n
their onflicts
ith aitians
nd
thereforeoonbecame oncernedver
he
redominance
f
people
f
African
descent
n the
country. irecting
imself o
the Dominican
Minister
f
Foreign
elations oma's
obadilla,
ogan
wondered
hether
the
resence
in
the
Republic
f o
large proportion
f he
oloured
ace"
would
weaken
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128 LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES
thegovernment'sffortso fend
ff
Haitian ggression. obadilla ssuaged
hisfears yreplyingthat mong heDominicans
reoccupationsegarding
colorhavenever eldmuch way" nd hat ven
formerslaveshavefought
and
would
gain ightgainst he
Haitians" n account f he ppressiveness
of the atter's ormer
egime Welles,1966[1928]:
77-78). In a dispatch
addressed o
U.S.
Secretaryf StateJohn
M. Clayton, atedOctober 4,
1849,American ommissioner
n
Santo
DomingoJonathan
.
Green e-
ported hat aitian iolence adgiven force
nduniversalityo the eeling
in favor fthewhitesntheDominican epublic" o thepoint hat black
"when aunted ithhiscolor" ouldconceivablyemark,I am black,but
white lack" cited
n
Welles, 966[1928]: 03-104).
Nineteenth-centuryoreign
bserversftheDominican cenehadample
occasion
o
note
he
eluctance
f
Dominicans
o
flauntheir lack dentity,
but hey
hemselvesemainedmbivalent
bout
he
acial
nd
thnic
harac-
teristics
f thenew
republic's opulation.
ne
thinks,
or
nstance,
f the
genealogy fDominican oliticaleaders ublishedy heNewYork vening
PostonSeptember, 1854,
with he ntentionf
rustratingecretary
f
tate
William
Marcy'splan
to secure
he
granting
f official .S.
recognition
o
theDominicanRepublic.TheEvening osthighlightedhe blackness f
Dominicans
o
spark ntipathygainst
hem
n
public pinion
ectors fthe
United
tates,
ut book
published
ix
years
ater
y
a
writer
eeking
he
opposite
esult ndertook
o
underestimate
he
lack lement
f
he
Domini-
can
population-representing
he ominican
eople
s "made
p
of
paniards,
Spanish
Creoles and some Africans nd
people
of color"
(Courtney,
1860:
132).
Two strains
ppear
o stand
ut n
theobservations
f Americans om-
menting
n
racialmatters
n
the
Dominican epublic tthe ime. ne s the
sense hat noaustererejudicegainstolor revails"nthe ountry,s one
author
ut t, r,
n thewords
f
another,
hat distinction
f
color,
n
social
life,
s
entirely
nknown"
SantoDomingo,
863:
10; Keim,
870:
168).
The
other train s
the
nsistence
n
magnifying
he white
omponent
f the
Dominican
opulation. hus,
heU.S.
Senate
Commission f
nquiry
ho
went otheDominican
epublic
n
early
871
o assesswhetherhe
ountry
was
ripe
for annexation o
the
U.S.
territory
ound
people
there o be
''generally
f
mixed
lood,"
with he
reatmajorityeing
neither
ure
lack
nor
pure
white" ut
howing
reas nhabited
y
"considerable umbers
f
pure
white"
eople
and
noting
hat
generally
n themixed
ace
the
white
bloodpredominates"Report, 871: 13). Even in the twentiethentury,
during
he dministration
f
Theodore
oosevelt,
necould
find
.S. voices
attesting
o
the
resumed
hitenessfDominicans. ne contendednambi-
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Torres-SaillantDOMINICAN RACIAL DENTITY 129
guously hat he nhabitantsfthe mallCaribbean epublic
with ery ew
exceptions"
ere
white,iting acial ostility,hats, the efusalf hewhite
Dominican obe governedy he lackHaitian," s the auseof
he artition
ofHispaniola
nto wo
ountriesHancock, 905: 50). Inthe amevein, n
anonymous
riter
ssertedhat white lood reponderates"ntheDominican
Republicby
contrast o
neighboring aiti,where the black race is in
complete scendancy"Romance," 995 1906]: 18-19).
Given
he
oregoing
eries f
fluctuatingronouncements
n Dominicans
andrace, hemixed estimonynthe ate1920sofyet nother merican
commentator,nvoyExtraordinary
nd Minister
lenipotentiary
umner
Welles,
hould ome s no
urprise.
hile
sserting
hat race iscrimination
in the DominicanRepublic s unknown,"e deemed t "one of themost
noteworthyeculiarities
f theDominican
eople
that mong ll shades,
there s
a universal esire hat heblackbe obliterated
y
the
white.
he
stimulation
f white
mmigration
as become
general emand,"
nd an
interest
n
curtailing
r
regulating
lack
mmigration
arried similar orce"
(Welles, 966[1928]: 09).
Wellesdescribed hat
roponents
f structural
causes
for ttitudesbout acewould haracterize
s
a
contradiction,
ince
his scenario nsinuates hatnegrophobiaan
exist
ndependent
f racial
oppression.
would ike
o take his
afflingossibility
s
startingoint or
an
inquiry
nto
the
concept
f
race as
it has
developed
historically
n
Dominican ociety.
It is no accident
hat his
nquiry
hould
pring
rom he tatements
f
Welles
ndthe ther orth
mericans,
orDominican
dentity
onsists ot
only
fhowDominicansee themselvesut lso
ofhow
hey
re een
by
he
powerful
ationswithwhich heDominican
epublic
as been inked
n a
relationship
f
political
nd
economic
ependence.
t s not
nconceivable,
for nstance,hat he texture fnegrophobicnd anti-Haitian ationalist
discourse
ponsored y
official
pokespersons
n
theDominican tate rew
significantly
n North mericanources
ating
ack
othe irst
ears
f he
republic.
s we
proceed
with his
nquiry,propose
o avoidthe
pitfalls
f
investigating
ominican ttitudesbout ace
exclusively
hroughheutter-
ancesof he
uling
lass
bymaking
n efforto assemble nstances f ctive
participation
f Afro-Dominicans
n
building
nd
defining
heir
istory.
These
nstances,ompiled
rom
he ield f
ocial
ction,
ffern nvaluable
living ext,
n
indispensable
ocumenthat
ould
carcely
e
produced y
archival esearchlone.
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130
LATIN AMERICANPERSPECTIVES
BLACKNESS
AND
NINETEENTH-CENTURY
POLITICS
Consistent
ith heirarge resence,
ominicansf
Africanescent
ave
played
n active nd decisivepolitical
ole
n their ountry.
he black
or
mulatto
rancisco
el RosarioSainchez
1817-1861),
ne ofthefounding
fathers
f
the
Dominican
ation,
ndtheblack
general oseJoaquin
uello
(1808-1847)
were mportant
n
bringing
he dream
f
Dominican
nde-
pendence o fruition. eyondthis,blacksand mulattos, y defyinghe
original eparatist
movement,
nsured herepublic's
ormallyspousing
democratic
deals.
Blacks had valid
reasons orhesitatingo support
he
separation
rom
aiti
spoused
y
a liberal
lite rom
antoDomingo; hey
owedtheir reedom
o their rethren
rom
he
westernerritory.
lavery ad
been
restricted
n
1801,
under
oussaint,
nd abolishedn 1822,with
he
arrival
f Boyer Alfau
Duran,
994:370).
Moreover,
he eadership
f
the
separatist
ovement
ad
proposed
national
nthem ritteny
the
poet
Felix
MariaDel Monte 1819-1899)
hat
mboldenedhepatriots
ith
he
exhortation
Rise
up
n
arms, hSpaniards "
Franco,
984:
160-161).
Since an associationfthenascent epublic ith mperialpain,which
still nslaved
lacks
n
Cuba
and
PuertoRico,
would
have
mperiled
he
freedom
f
many
ominicans,
ithin ours
f
the ndependenceroclama-
tion,
n uprising
fpeople
ofAfrican escent
ed
by
Santiago asora
n
the
Santo
Domingo
ection
f
Monte
Grande
hallenged
he
new
government.
The
rebellion orced
he eaders
of the
ncipient
ation o
reaffirm
he
abolition
f
slavery
nd to
integrate
he
black
Basora
intothe
country's
governing
tructure
Franco,
984:
161-162).
he
very
irst ecree
romul-
gated
y
heJunta
entral hat
irst
overned
he
ountry,
n March
, 1844,
wasthe
bolitionf laveryAlfau
uran, 994:13).
Among
arious
estures
to llay he oncernsfblacks ndmulattos,he ominicanovernmentent
on toreaffirmts ommitment
o bolition
n
several
ecreeshat, part
rom
stressing
he inality
f
bolition,
ade lave rafficking
f
ny
kind
capital
crime
ndruled
hat
laves
fromnyprovenance
ould
nstantlyain
heir
freedom n
setting
oot
n
the
erritory
f theDominican epublic
Enci-
clopedia
Dominicana,
Esclavitud").
When,
ess
than
0
years
fter
ndependence,
n
unpatriotic
litenegoti-
ated he nnexation
f he
Dominican
epublic
o Spain,
n armed
ebellion
to
recover
ts
lost
sovereigntyromptly
nsued,
nd
the black General
Gregoriouperon utshonell otherss theguardianfnationaliberation.
The
participation
f
people
fAfrican
escent
n
that
hapter
f
Dominican
history,
nown s the
Warof
Restoration,
as
significant
oth
n
the
high
command
nd
n the ank ndfile.The
nationalistesistance
eaders,
ware
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Torres-Saillant
DOMINICAN RACIAL IDENTITY 131
of the
decisive
mportancefblacks and mulattos,aunched
campaign
calling ttentiono Spain'splans orestorelavery ith document
nown
as the t.
ThomasManifesto
f
March 0, 1861.Pressuredy his ampaign,
Brigadier ntonio elaez, ommanderfthe ccupation orces, astened
o
issue a decreeof April8, 1861,
whereby pain assuredDominicans
hat
slavery
ouldnever eturn
othe
and Alfau uran, 994: 12). Even
so, the
colorofthe nvadersontrastedharply ith hat f the reoles,
iving he
warracial
vertones. ith he massive ntegration"fthepeasant opula-
tion, which onsistedmainly f blacks nd mulattos,"he rmed truggle
soonbecame
"racialwar"
gainst
white
upremacistower
hat
reserved
slavery
nd "a
truly opular
war, s
itdirectedll the
nergies
fthe
nation
toward
chievingndependence
nd
restoringovereignty"Franco,
992:
277; Moya Pons, 1995: 213).
General osede la Gaindara,he astmilitary
commanderf he
panish
orces,uggestedhat
he ttitudesfhis oldiers,
who were usedto viewingheblackraceandpeopleof mixed ncestry
s
inferioreople," eepened
he
pposition
f Dominicans o
the
nnexation
andmayhavebrought
ts
downfallDe la Gandara, 975:
237-238).
Dominicans
ommemorate
heWar
f Restoration,oughtgainst
white
Spaniards, ith s much atrioticervors they otheWar f ndependence,
foughtgainst
lack
Haitians;
nd he lack
general uperon,
ho
helped
o
restore
he
nation's overeignty,nspires
s much
espect
nd
admiration
s
thewhite reole
Juan ablo
Duarte,
he
deological
ounderfthe
Republic.
Another alient
igure
f theRestoration ar,
heblack Ulises
Heureux,
whoseheroic
xploits gainst
he
panish rmy
arned imnational
restige,
twodecades
ater ame o dominatehe ountryolitically
ormore
han 5
years.
After
chieving
istinctionnvarious
igh ositions
n
theDominican
governmentollowing
hewar
ffort,
e ran
or
resident
f he
ountry
nd
was elected
or he irstime
n
1882,
became
headof tate
hrough
lectoral
channels wootherimes,nd ubsequentlyxtended is rulebydictatorial
impositionntil
e was
assassinated
n
1899.
BLACKS AND DOMINICAN
FOLK CULTURE
The African
resence
n
Dominican ulture f course
transcendshe
outstanding olitical
acts of individuals. lements
f
African ultural
survival
n Dominican
ociety
ppear
n the
anguage
ominicans
peak-
theethnolinguisticodalitieshat haracterizehepeople'shandling f
Spanish,
which how
peculiarities
n
lexical structurend
in
phonetics,
morphosyntax,
nd
ntonationhat
uggest
etentionsrom he
anguages
f
African laves
in
colonial
times
Megenney, 990: 233).
There s also
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132 LATIN AMERICANPERSPECTIVES
evidence
f a
significant
resence f HaitianCreole n Afro-Dominican
Spanish s
a result
f
he nterculturalontacts
hat
were firmlyemented"
duringhe nificationeriod
rom 822 hrough884 Lipski, 994: 13).The
original
ulturef he laveshas
probablyoundtsway
nto he ral radition
of
the
Dominican eople,
nd the
contributions
f blacks to Dominican
cuisine
ake he
form
f both ultural
ransmissions
rom frica nd creole
innovationsraceable o
the
plantationegimeDeive,1990: 133-135).But
in no other ealm re
African ultural ormsmore videntn Dominican
societyhannspiritualxpressions.
Carlos steban eivehas onvincinglyosited
he
xistence
f Dominican
voodoo
with n
indigenousantheon
nd other haracteristicshat istin-
guish
t
from aitian oodoo
Deive,
1992:
171-174,
82-183).People
of
various
lass
backgrounds
ormally
ave ecourseothe ervices ndrituals
of
this olk
eligion,
hich as as
much
urrency
n
urban
reas
s
in
rural
ones
(1992: 17).
In
fact,
he
majority
f voodoo
practitioners
onsider
themselves
fficiallyatholic, aving
eceived
aptism
nd
emaining
ctive
in theworship f
that aith
1992: 211).
Further esearch
as
notonly
supported
he existence
f
voodoo
as
"part
f
Dominican
olk
religious
expression"ut lso dentifiedtas a crucial esource or opularmedicine
(Davis, 1987: 423,
221-223).
Davis has
highlighted
ertain inds f folk
spiritualxpressions
ith
strong
fricannfluences"hat
rovide
id
to
the
Dominican
eople
n
many
fthe
ocialfunctionsf heir
aily
ives
1987:
194-195).Following
hese
nsights,
team
ombining
mental ealth
nd
social science
pecialists
as stressed he
mportance
f
voodoo and
other
folk
piritual
anifestations
or
nderstanding
he
Dominican
eople
from
the
perspective
f
psychiatry
nd
psychologyTejeda, ainchez,
nd
Mella,
1993:54).
Naturally,
he
state-funded
uardians
f the official
ulture,
ntent
n
stressinghepredominancef theHispanicheritagemongDominicans,
have
vigorously ejected
he traceof
any "pagan"
forms
f
worship
n
Dominicanociety.
nable o
deny
hat ominicans o engage
n
African-
descended
pirituality,hey
have ascribed
hat
redilection
o
unwelcome
foreign
nfluence-a
ogic
that ften as
ustified
he
persecution
f folk
religious ractices
s a threat
o
morality
nd
Christian
alues.
In
the
nineteenthentury,
he poet
Del
Monte construed oodoo
as a
savage,
anthropophagicitual,
nd an
1862
ordinance
roscribed
series f dances
andfestivities
hat
nvolved
xpressions
fAfrican
rigins
Del Monte,
979:
246; Deive,1992:163).Duringhe rujillo ictatorship,henhe ominican
state ecame
most
mphatically
ommitted
o
promoting
urocentricnd
white
upremacist
iews
f
Dominicanness,
he fficial
aily
l List
n
Diario
on
August 6, 1939, eported
he rrest
f
two
men
or
ommemorating
he
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Torres-SaillantDOMINICAN
RACIAL
DENTITY
133
Warof
Restorationy engaging
n voodoo
practices
longwith
thermen
and
women
who
had managed o
escape
cited nDeive,
1992: 164). The
Trujillo
egime
utlawed articipation
n voodoo
ceremonies
ith
aw 391
ofSeptember
0,
1943,
which
mposed
penaltyf
up tooneyear
n prison
plus
a fine f 500 pesos
on
anyone
onvictedf the
rime
ither y direct
commission
r
ndirect
ollusion Deive,
1992: 186).
The relentlessness
f
the
government's
ampaign o eradicate
Africanpiritual
xpressions
n
Dominican
ociety
s clearfrom n article ublished
n
thenewspaper
a
NaciononOctober, 1945, nwhich milioRodriguezemorizi,n deolo-
gist f
theTrujillo egime
nd a consummate
egrophobe,
enounced
cu-
caya
dance,
annibalism,
oodoo,
witchcraft,nd ther
vil rts nd
ustoms"
as rituals oming
rom
the
and
of
Louverture
ndChristophe"
hat
had
occasionally
arnished
the
imple
abits f
Dominicans,"
lthough
e reas-
sured
is
readers
hat
he
dark oots"
f
hose
nfluenceseft
o
perceptible
vestiges
n
the
eople.
But
despite
he berrant
egrophobia
f
he
cribes
f he
uling
lassfrom
colonial
times
o
the
present,
ith
population
hat
s
predominantly
f
Africanescent,
t s nevitablehat
lack ontributions
oDominican ulture
are
omnipresent.
hat ontributionegan n1502and ince hen,s Vetilio
AlfauDuran 1994:
342)
has
put t,
ithas
remainedonstantnddecisive."
In
addition
o the reas
ofendeavor
urveyed
bove,
ne
could
peak
f
the
celebrity
njoyed y
Dominicans
f
African
escent
n thefields
f
sports
and
popular
music.
Clearly, lso,
blacks
have
by
no means acked
repre-
sentation
n
the
ublic phere
r n the
egard
ftheDominican
eople.
The
overwhelmingopular
ictory
nthe
1994
lections
f
he lack
presidential
candidate ose
rancisco
efia
Gomez
f he
artido
evolucionario
omini-
cano
Dominican
evolutionaryarty-PRD)
against
he wowhite lders
Juan osch, f he artido e aLiberaci6nominicanaDominican ibera-
tion
party-PLD),
and
Joaquin
alaguer,
f
thePartido
eformista
ocial
Cristiano
Social
Christian
eform
arty-PRSC),
s
eloquent
estimony
o
this.
hat hemaneuvers
f
he
alaguer overnment
revented
eina
omez
from ecoming resident
attersess
to the
resent
iscussion
han
hat
he
majority
f
he
Dominican
opulation
ent
othe
olls
nd ast
heir allots
in favor
fa
black
man
who,
n
addition,
s
reputedly
fHaitian escent.
n
voting
or im
massively,
he
ominican
eople
isregarded
nelaborate
nd
virulent
ampaign
rchestrated
y
he
overnment
nd
he
onservative
lite
that
imed ocast
doubt n
his
Dominicanness
ndmake vote
or
im
eem
unpatriotic.ominicanshowedhroughheirctions hathey adminds f
their
wn.
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134 LATINAMERICAN
PERSPECTIVES
DERACIALIZED CONSCIOUSNESS
AND
THE RISE OF THE MULATTO
Dominicans fAfrican
escent ossesswhat nemightall a deracialized
socialconsciousness
hose rigins ateback othe
ecline f he lantation
economy
n olonial imes. fter
eneratingwidespreadndmassive nflux
ofblackslaves
in
the early 16th entury,he
Hispaniola ugar ndustry
declined ramatically.heevanescence
f
he ndustry,
oncomitantith he
constantxodus fwhiteettlers, arked he exturefracerelationsnthe
context
f
he olony'snsuingmpoverishment.
hroughouthe eventeenth
century,overty
fflictedhe nhabitantsf
HispaniolaPefia erez,1985:
10).
A "mirrorfutter ackwardness,"eventeenth-centuryantoDomingo
"wallowed
n
almost otalwretchedness"Bosch,1986:
117). na 1691plea
addressed
o the
Crown,
on
Francisco ranco e
Torquemadargued
or
the need
to
provide
he colonists
with
black slaves "on credit" o
help
stimulate
griculturalroductionFranco
e
Torquemada,
942:
84-85).
Worsened
y
the ffects
f
Governor ntonio e
Osorio's
depopulation
of the astern
erritories
n
1605,
occasional
oreign
nvasions, irate aids,
andvariousnatural isasters,heSantoDomingo conomy eterioratedo
the
oint
hat
lavery
ecame ntenable
nd
he
igid
acial odes
ngendered
by
he
lantationirtually
roke own. henumberffree lacks, segment
that ad
begun
o surface oward he ndofthe ixteenth
entury,rew
o a
majority
s
the
ocialdistance etween lacks nd
whites
hrankignificantly
(Cassa',
992:
76,107-108).
he
estimony
n 1763
byArchbishop
ernaindez
de Navarretebout
he
carcity
f
purewhites,ffirming
hat he
majority
f
the ree
opulationincludingandholders,
as ofmixed
lood,"highlights
the
ervasiveness
fracial ntermixture
n
Santo
omingoCassa',
992:
109).
The
decay
f he
lantation
nd he irtual
estitutionfwhites
elped
o
breakdownthe social barriersetween heraces, timulatingnterracial
maritalelationsnd
giving
ise o
n
ethnicallyybridopulation.
heracial
integration
nd
thnic
ybridity
hat
haracterizedeventeenth-century
anto
Domingo xplain
he
mergence
f
themulattos the
predominantype
n
the thnic
omposition
f
theDominican
opulation.
Interestingly,espite
he
argepresence f people
of African escent
t
the
ime,many
f
he
yewitness
ccounts
f he
recarious
tate f
he
olony
bewailed
he
carcity
fblacks
s
a
primary
ause of he
decay.
We
begin
o
recognize
ere
tendency
o limit
he
term lack
to
people
still
iving
n
slaveryr ngagedn ubversivectiongainsthe olonial ystem. eknow
that
ince he ixteenth
entury,
laves
had often esortedo
marooning
nd
open
rebellion
ndthe olonial
government
adto nvest
good portion
f
its esources
n
counterinsurgency
fforts
Cassa',
992:
85).
The
activitiesf
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Torres-Saillant
DOMINICANRACIAL
DENTITY 135
maroons alarmed
the ruling
tructure
ontinuously
ast and west
of
Hispaniola.
y the
1777 Aranjuez reaty,
hen he panish
ndthe
rench
agreed
n
a
formal
artition
fthe sland, hemaroons
ere till
concern,
and
the
mperial
uthoritiesrote nto he ccord
strategy
or ddressing
theproblem
n both Santo
Domingo
and Saint Domingue Moreau
de
Saint-Mery,994:
424).
Peaceful r cooperative
mulattosndblacks,
n contrast,eem
to have
become
ecolorized
nthe
yes
of
the uling
lass,which robably
xplains
Francode Torquemada'somplaintbout he bsenceofblacks t a time
whenfree
blacksabounded. imilarly,
n
the ate-eighteenth
entury,he
mulatto
riest
Antonio anchez
Valverde ttributedhe
povertyf Santo
Domingo
o the ack
of
blacks,
n
contrast
o thewealth
f the ontiguous
French olony,
hich
eemed ith hem
Sanchez
Valverde, 988:
248).He,
of
course,
meant
laves nd
groaned
hat
ven he
omparatively
ew laves
who
xisted
n
Santo
Domingo
work
or
hemselveslmost
ne-third
f
he
year,"
bjecting
urthero hosemasters
ho et heirlacks
o
about
n
their
own
n
exchange
or fee nstead
f
mploying
hem
n
efficientgricultural
production
Sanchez
Valverde,
988: 249-250).Gradually,
hesphere
f
blackness ecame ssociated xclusively ith laveryndsubversion,os-
tering conceptual
pace
that
ermitted
ree
lacks nd mulattos
n
Santo
Domingo
o
step
outside
he racial
circumscription
ftheir lackness
n
configuring
heirdentities
r
aligning
hemselves
olitically.
The disruption
fthe lantation
conomynd
tsdemographic
mpact
n
the
population
acilitated split
between iological
blackness nd
social
blackness.
As the
racial
oligarchy
riginallyenerated
y
the
plantocracy
crumbled,igmentation
eased o
hape
olitical
ction.
Moya
Pons, eflect-
ing
nthe
se n
arly
ineteenth-century
anto
omingo
f
he
erm
lancos
de la
tierra
whites
f the
and)by
colored
eople
o
describehemselves,
notes thatparadoxicallywhile their kingradually ecamedarker,he
mentality
f Dominicans urnedncreasingly
hiter"
1986:
239).
But
the
context
f this
paradox
s
an
earlierhistorical
rocess,
whereby
ocial
position
ad come
to
supersede
kin olor
n the
rticulation
f
dentity
or
people
ofAfrican
escent. lacks
nd
mulattos
ho
pproximated
he
evel
of
their ormer asters hrough
ither heir wn social
ascent
r
the
white
colonists'
escent
were, ndeed,
he
equivalent
f
former
lancos.
They
lacked
material
ramef eference
nwhich o onstruct
concept
f
dentity
based nracial elf-differentiation,
hat
s,
on
affirmation
f
heir lackness.
While hedeath fthe lantationconomy
nd ndiscriminate
overty
n
seventeenth-century
anto
Domingo
ontributed
o
he
ecline
f
lavery
nd
the
ise f
people
fAfrican escent s
a
preponderant
ocial
force, hey
lso
eroded
he
ases
for sense
of
olidarity
ith
lacks
n
general.
s a
result,
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136 LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES
we find, or nstance,hemulatto uan
aron
-1805) collaborating
ith he
invading rench orces gainst heblack roops f Toussaintouverturen
1802,despite hefact hat heyear efore heHaitian eader
had abolished
slavery
nd
encouraged
acial
equality
n
Santo Domingo.
imilarly,he
blackDominican
warrior uan
uero 1808-1864), opularly
nown s the
BlackCid,foughtigorouslygainst lackHaitians uringhe ndependence
war n1844 nddidnothesitateo idewith pain's nvading hite oldiers
when Dominicanswerestrugglingo recover heirnational overeignty
during he annexation. ne couldargue hat orDominicans fAfrican
descent, istory
ad
conspired gainst heir evelopmentf a racialcon-
sciousness
hat
would
nformheir
uilding
f alliances
long thnic ines.
At the
ame
time,
heir
eracialized onsciousness recluded
hedevelop-
ment fa discourse fblack ffirmationhatwould erve o counterbalance
intellectualegrophobia.
THE LIMITS OF DERACIALIZATION:
PITFALLS
AND
LEVERAGE
Should Dominican lacks
and
mulattos
ully ecognize
hemselves
s
targets
fthe
ystematicisparagementeployed gainst
hem
y
the uro-
centric iscourse
f
the
country's
ntellectual
lite,
hey
would
probably
suffer
cute
self-loathing
nd
chronic lienation.
heirderacialized on-
sciousness, y nducing
ndifference
o
tate
egrophobia,
as
protected
hem
from hemental
trophy
hatwould omefrom
uch
ffliction.
heir
bility
to
step
outside he
sphere
f
their lackness
as enabled hem o remain
whole.
We
have traced o
the
eventeenth
entury
he
process
whereby
he
concept
frace
ost
ts
heavy mphasis
n
biologically
nheritedeaturesnd
traits.When hemulattohinkeroseRamon opez 1866-1922)published
his 1894essay n nutrition
nd
race,
he
erm
ace
hadbecome ynonymous
withnation.
opez
feared hat
nappropriate
ietwould ead
to
physical
degeneracynd, onsequently,
oss
of
autonomy,
ince
a
race hat
egener-
ates loses
its
ndependence" Lopez,
1975:
32, 36,62).
He
spoke
of a
concept
of
race, hen,
hat welt n
social, emporary,
nd
ontingent
ariables ather
than n genetic, ermanent,
nd
immanent
nes.
He meant,
n
short,
he
Dominican
eople.
The Dominicanoncept
f
racefound tself ythe ndof the entury
n
harmoniousorrespondenceith heconstructionf themultiple thnic
groups
f LatinAmerica s
forming single
ace.
Many
writers rom he
Spanish-speaking
ountriesf he
hemisphereosited
certain
piritual
ink
that omehow nifiedhe
eoples
f
the
egion.
he
essay
La
raza
cosmica
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Torres-SaillantDOMINICAN RACIALIDENTITY 137
(1925) bytheMexican hinker
ose
e Vasconcelos1822-1959)
uccinctly
synthesized
he
prevailing iews. Pedro HenriquezUrenia,
ware of the
anthropological
wkwardness
f
umping
the
multicolored ultitudesf
peoples hatpeakour anguage" nto ne racialgroup,
xplained hat heir
onenessdid not
depend
on
biological onsiderations:Whatunites nd
unifies
his
ace,
n dealratherhan real
one,
s the
ommunity
f
culture,
determinedrimarilyy
the
community
f
language" Henriquez
Urenia,
1978: 12-13).
One should ooktothevigorousmperialxpansionftheUnited tates
in
thewakeof
the
panish-American
ar f
1898
for he
historicalontext
in which he
notion f
single
bero-Americanace
gained urrency.
s the
young mpire
et ts
Monroe
Doctrinen
motion
s a
foreign
olicy
reed
with egard o LatinAmerica, ften akingmilitaryction gainst ational
governments
r
nstallingarticular
ocial sectors
n
power
hroughout
he
region, tendencymerged
ithin
sector f the ontinent's
ntelligentsia
to
express
ts
opposition
o
U.S.
imperialismy singing
he
praises
of
Latin-relatedultural alues
n
opposition o the
Nordic
radition
hat
he
United tates
resumablyepresented.
hesecritics id not
ppose mperi-
alism er e,as one angatherromheir ostalgicvocation f he reatness
of
the
Spanish
nd
Portuguesempires; hey bjectedmainly
o its
North
American
ariant.
heunrestrainedelebration
yEugenio
Maria
de
Hostos
(1839-1903)
of the olonialdominationaunched
y
Columbus
s
"one of
themost ruitfulervices enderedo
humanity
ince
he
eginning
f
time"
would
ypify
he
prevailingensibilityHostos, 969: 169).
They ppear
o
haveoverlooked
he act hat he
inguisticnity
f berian
merica
hat
hey
so
zealously
efended ad ts root n a bitter rama f
genocidalmperial
aggression.
he
Uruguayanssayist ose nriqueRodo
1872-1917)
n
his
influentialriel
1900)
envisioned ith errorhe ikelihood f
delatinized
Spanish mericahat ould uccumb onordomania,hats, nunreasonable
admiration
orNorth merican
alues
Rodo,1971[1900]:102-103).
The dispositionfLatinAmericanntellectuals
o
ee dichotomousalue
systems
n
the United tates nd the
Spanish-speaking
ountries f the
hemisphere
osteredhe
ractice
f
defining
heir
egion
s
one
arge
nit n
contradistinctiono heNorthern
radition,
nd
his
egional
efinition
ppar-
ently
ecessitated
he
ompaniononcept
f
Hispanic
ace hat ranscended
phenotypical
nd
biological
haracteristics.
n
the Dominican
Republic,
many hinkers,
ost
notably
merico
ugo 1870-1952),
choed he enets
of he
ontinental
ntelligentsia
bout
bero-American
nity.
or
Dominicans,
of
ourse,
he
ffinity
as
natural,
ince
hey
ad
lready
rrivedntheir wn
at
nonbiologicalnderstanding
f ace.Blacks
ndmulattosad hemselves
undergone process
f
deracialization
f
consciousnessnd
had
become
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138 LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES
decolorized
n the
eyes of the Eurocentricntellectuallite. Dominican
society ad nheritedromtspeculiar istoryconcept frace haracterized
by openness nd flexibility,husfacilitatingts blendingwith he racial
concept hat ubsequentlyevelopednLatinAmerica.
The Dominican oncept frace, hen, ad thedisadvantagehat t could
easily play intothe ogic of a negrophobicntelligentsiaationally nd
continentwide.he deracialized onsciousnessf theblackand mulatto
populationeftDominicans npreparedo fendoff xpressions f crude
racism.We must ememberhat urn-of-the-centuryominicanntellectuals
pursued
heirducation
referably
n
Europe
t timewhen
Westernhinkers
were dvancing latantlyacist heories
f culture
nd
human
ociety. a-
tional chool urriculalosely ollowed uropeanmodels,whichmeans hat
the
voices
hat
ought
o
explain
ominicanife ended o embrace
oncep-
tual
paradigms revalent
n
theWest.
or
nstance,
he evered
ostos,
he
Puerto ican ducator
o
whom
ominicans
we mportant
dvances n the
school system,
ould not
relinquish
he notion hat
Caucasians
were the
owners
f
the
wisdom nd
bility ecessary
or ivilizationnd
progress.
n
the 1880s,
he lavished nthusiastic
raise
n theDominican
overnment's
efforto stimulatehemigrationo the ountryf"thepersecutedribesn
Russia
nd
Germany"
or he
ikely ontributionf
hose
mmigrants
o what
theDominican
erritory
ouldbecome"
Hostos, 969:370).
Hostos rusted
that, part rom measurableenefits,"hemigrants
ould
ring
incalcula-
ble
ones,namely
hat
we can
call
civilizingalues,"
most
necessary
sset
givenhis view
of
the
Dominican
eople
as
"lazy" and "beggarly"1969:
371-372,388).
He
placed great
ealof
faithn he ole
hat hite
mmigrants
would
play
both s
"agents
f
production"
nd s
"agents
f
ducation"
ho
would ontributeheirgoodwork abits,echnique,oresight,conomy,
nd
practicalnowledge
f
ndustry"
o he
evelopment
f he
ountry1969:390).
Concomitant ith heunquestioneduperiorityfCaucasianswas the
notion
f
acialmixture
s an
oddity
hat esulted
n
mental
egeneracy.hus,
in
about 916, he therwisestimable ovelistnd ssayist edericoGarcia
Godoy, ecognizing
hat nterracial
arital elations
n
theDominican
ast
had "led to a specific nd differentiateduman ypeduringhecolony,"
convinced imself
hat
recisely
n
that
hybridity
f
our thnic
rigin
ie the
corrosive
erms
hat" ave
mpeded
the
development
f
an effectivend
prolific
ivilization"n the
ountryGarciaGodoy, 975:55).
The results f
a deracialized onsciousnesshat
recluded
thnic
elf-affirmationnd
ex-
posure
o an education hat
roclaimed
he
uperiority
f whites
ntrapped
the
minds
fnotable frican-descended
ominican
ntellectuals.
hus,
writ-
ing
n the
1930s,
rancisco
ugenio
Moscoso
Puello
1885-1959)
ffirmed
hismixed
ncestry
s
"representative"
f heDominican
ype
as
far
s race
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Torres-Saillant
DOMINICANRACIAL
IDENTITY
139
is concerned,"
oncedinghat
we are mostly
mulattos,"nd credited
is
ability o
operate
ine echnologyo theportion
f white lood n his
veins
(Moscoso
Puello,1976: 85).
Just s the
Dominican oncept f race
merged
withthe ideological
subterfuge
f
elite ntellectuals
n
continentalatinAmerica, t posed
no
barrier o
the benevolent
acism
utteredy
individuals f demonstrable
commitment
oDominicanocietyikeHostos
ndGarciaGodoy.Worse
till,
the penness
f he
oncept
ent tself o themalevolent anipulation
f
the
Trujillo egime, hosepropagandistsxploitedtsflexibilityor heirwn
ends.They ecognized
he
historicaldentificationf heDominican opula-
tion
with he
ndigenous
aino nhabitants
f
Hispaniola,
whohadendured
oppression
nd xtermination
t he ands f panishonquerors
t he utset
of the
colonial
xperience.
thnically,
he ndians
epresented
category
typified
y
nonwhiteness
s well s
nonblackness,
hich ould
asily
ccom-
modate he acial
n-betweennessf he ominican
mulatto.
hus, he egime
gave
urrency
othe
erm
ndio
Indian)
odescribe
he
omplexion
f
people
of mixed ncestry.
he term
ssumed fficial tatus
n that he national
identification
ardgave
t as a skin-coloresignation
or he hree ecades
of he ictatorshipndbeyond.While,ntheminds fmost ominicans ho
use
it,
he
erm
merely
escribes color
gradation
omewhere etween he
polar
xtremes
f whitenessnd blackness
much
n
the ame
way
that he
term
mulatto
oes,
the
ulturalommissars
f the
Trujillo
egime referred
it primarily
ecause t
was devoid f
any
emantic
llusion o the
African
heritage
nd wouldthereforeccord
with heir egrophobic
efinition
f
Dominicanness.
Dominicans
ave
managed
o urvive he
lienating
egrophobia
nduced
by
their
malignant
ducation nder
rujillo. espite
longhistory
f tate-
funded
onspiracygainst
heirmental
ealth, hey
xhibit reasonable
degree f elf-esteem.rrespectivef he acial anguagehey se, heyhow
considerable
elf-affirmation
n
the
sphere
f action.A national
urvey
conducted
n
1995
howed,
or
nstance,
hat
while he
espondents
esitated
to
classify
hemselvess
"negro"
r
"negra,"
he
majority xpressed
o
particular
acial
preference
n
picking
marital
artner
rom he hoices f
"negra,"india,"
r blanca" iven
n
the uestionnaire
Dore Cabral,
995:
9, 12).
Dominicans ave notsuccumbed,
ince thedeath
of Trujillo, o
state-sponsored
nducements
gainst
Haitian
mmigrants
n
the
country.
However, hey
avenot
scaped
hemental
cars nflicted
ygenerations
f
official ilification
f Haitians.
Anti-Haitianism,
ueled
y
the
urrent
ul-
nerability
f
mpoverished
aitian
mmigrants
ntheDominican
epublic,
persists
s a viable
political
nstrument
or onservatives.
he
survey
ited
above ndicates
hat 1
percent
fthe
espondents
oulddeem
t
objection-
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140 LATINAMERICANPERSPECTIVES
able tomarry
Haitian
Dore Cabral, 995: 12). But would onjecturehat
on the whole,
Dominicans
ave escaped serious trophy ecause of the
dealienatingesilience
f their
penconcept f race.Norcan we overlook
the
ocial
utility
f uch
onceptual penness.
RECENTERING THE PEOPLE
No matterowmuchngenuityfro-Dominicansay xhibitnnegoti-
ating
nimical ntellectual
egacies,
hefact
emains hatnegrophobia as
endured
n
the ountry
nd
an
till
manifesttself
n
ways hatnterfereith
thewell-being
f dark-skinned
eople.By
the
beginning
f
May 1996,for
instance,
he
government
nd ts ssociates
were argetinglackpeopleon
suspicion
ftheir
eing oreigni.e.,Haitian)
esidents ho
mightllegally
have
registered
ovotewith he
urpose
f
lecting
he
lack
andidate efia
Gomez.Blackness, hen,
ontinuesobe
relegated
othe ealm f he
oreign
in
the
and that
riginated
lackness
n
theAmericas.
he
need to launch
efforts
imed t
dismantling
acism annot e
denied,
ut hese ffortshould
go beyondmere enunciation.lackDominicans eed oacquire he ccou-
trementshat
will enable
them
o
resist
ts
spell.
would
argue
hat
he
African-descendedajority
fDominicans illbenefit
reatly
rom model
that llows
them o
perceive
heir ncestorss thereal
protagonists
f
the
epic
of
he
Dominican
xperience.eeing
heir
rogenitors
s
having haped
the ourse
f
the
ountry'sistory
ill
nduce
n
Afro-Dominicans
degree
ofhistorical
elf-recognition
hat
will
ause
hem, espite
heir
pen oncept
of
race,
to seek
an
end
to notions f Dominicannesshat
depreciate
he
physiognomy
f he
verwhelmingajority
f he
opulation.
We are sking ominican istorians,neffect,oembrace narrativehat
privilegeshemany
atherhan he
few.
n
his evocation f theDecember
1522 lave
rebellion,
he
ery
irstuch
prising
n
the
history
fNew
World
slavery,
ir
1984: 199)
hadoccasion
o
voice
his
nsight:
History
ould
not
get
his
name.The
black
hadno time
o
pose
for he ensof
history,
hich
s
a dialectical orm f
photography....
e
is, hus, nonymous.
To be
anonymous
s
to be unanimous. ot to
have a
name
s
to contain
ll
names....
Anonymity
s
a kind
f
um
otal, ollectivity,nanimity.
o be no
one
s,
at
the ame
ime,
obe
everyone. nonymity
s
plural.Mir, 984:199)
Inkeepingwith his oet'shistorical isdom,wewould skchroniclers
of theDominican
ast
to
find t in themselves
o train heir
yes
on the
anonymous
asses.
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Torres-Saillant
DOMINICAN RACIAL
DENTITY 141
BLACKNESS
IN THE DOMINICAN
DIASPORA
At thispoint,we
have no way ofknowing he extent
o which uture
Dominican
overnments
ill be willing o embrace
ducationalndsocial
agendas imed t repairing
he ulturalamage erpetrated
y the
ultural
theorists
fthe onservative
ower
tructure.orwould
tbe advisable, s
Arcadio iaz Quifiones
arns s,to placethenation's
ultural uturen the
hands fthe
tate 1993:
174). Butwecan be certain
f he ivotal ole hat
theDominican iasporantheUnited tateswill play,with r withouthe
assistance
f
anygovernment,
n
the onfigurationf
a humanelynclusive
conceptualizationf
racial
dentity
n Dominican ociety.his s so
because
Dominicans annot elp
but
realize
hat n theUnited
tates acematters
tremendously.n this
ountry,ominicansoin the
ast of an inescapable
socialdrama,wherein
hites
et the
normativetandard
nd "blackpeople
areviewed
s a 'them,' to borrow he
anguage f
CornelWest 1993:3).
Thus,
acehas mplications
or ne'ssurvival.
It
soon becomes
bvious
o Dominican
mmigrants
hat he
arger
.S.
society
does
not
care
to
distinguish
etween hem
nd Haitians s
the
offspring
f
the
wo
nations f
Quisqueya,
long
with
ther thnic
ommu-
nities
f
mmigrants
romhe hirdWorld,
s
they rapple
or ccessto obs,
education, ousing,
nd
health ervices
n an
atmosphere
f
ever-scarcer
resources
nd ver-increasingnti-immigranteeling.
n the
iaspora,
eces-
sity
lliesDominicans
ith
aitians;
nti-Haitianism
s rendered
mpractical.
Nor can Dominicans
n
the
United
tates
afford
he
embarrassment
f
seeming
o
depreciate
acially community
ith
which,
n
the
yes
f
others,
they
isiblyhare acialkinship.
Whateverheir articular
anner fracial
self-representation,
ominicans
ome nto
society
hat,
n
thewords
f
Frank onilla, knows nlyblack ndwhite"1980:464). Ata NewYork
college
where
taught,
was
approached
y
n
African
merican
olleague
whowas
working
ith groupn
he stablishmentf
black
aculty
aucus.
Infact,
ome
members
f
the
group
ad
proposedmy
nclusion n account
of
my
dark
kin
while
thers ad
had
econd
houghts
n
ight
f
my
oming
from
Spanish-speaking
ation.
iving
me
he
enefit
f he
oubt,
members
had
agreed
o
et
me decidewhether
belonged
n
the
aucus.
My
African
American
olleague ut
he
uestion
hus: Do
you
consider
ourself
ore
black thanHispanic
r more
Hispanic
hanblack?"Finding
he
question
disarming,
proved
nable o
quantify
he mmaterial.
was too fearful
f
sayinghewrong hingndmerelypententencesaloren imless ircum-
locution.
My
ndecisionmademe
suspect
n
the
yes
of
my
olleague,
with
the
predictable
esult
hat
never eard
bout he lack
aucus
gain.
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142 LATINAMERICAN
PERSPECTIVES
In the United tates,
ountless
ominicans,
articularly
ark-skinned
ones,
find hemselvesaving
o choose mong
ptionshat
heir istorical
experience
as notprepared
hem orecognize.
uch
s the redicament,
or
instance,
f heDominican
haracters
nDavid
Lamb'sDo Platanos
Go Wit'
Collard
Greens?
1994).
The
novel
featureshe romance
f twoHunter
College
tudents,
nAfrican merican alenamed
reemannd
hisDominican
sweetheart,
ngelita,gainst
background
f acial ension
nd ocal
politics
in
NewYorkCity
tthetime f Mayor
DavidN.
Dinkins.
n hisgallant
dedicationoenabling ngelitandherfamily o accept nd cherishheir
African eritage,amb's
Freeman
mbodies hemindset
fmany
African
Americanswho construe
he reluctance
f
Dominicans nd
other ark-
skinned
atinos to
make blackness heir rimarydentity
s a form
f
alienation
hat
equiresrgent
orrective
reatment.
ManyDominicans
ave already
ssumed discourse
f identityhat
emanates
rom
he
particular
truggles
f
the
black iberation ovement
n
the
United
tates.
A
small ontingent
nNew
York
s
madeup of
ndividuals
of
varioushues
who claim
to
see
themselves
ot
s
"Dominicans" ut
s
"Africans
orn
n
the
Dominican
epublic."
imilarly,
ominican
oung-
sters
who
re
brought
p
nthis
ountry,
here
ipolar
acial
ategorieseign
supreme,
re
ikely
o
adopt
he acial
lassifications
dministered
y
their
environment.
hus
Ramona
Hernaindez
f he atino tudies
rogram
t
the
University
f Massachusetts,
oston,
as
looked
t
the1990U.S. Census
with
n
eye
to
howDominicans
dentify
hemselves
thnically
nd
detected
a
pattern
howing
hat he
onger
ominican
oungsters
averesided
n
the
United
tates,
he
reater
he ikelihood
hat
hey
ill
lassify
hemselves
s black.
Despite
he
nherentalueof overcoming
hevestiges
f a
negrophobic
education,
he
uestion
emains hether aintaining
sense f acial
dentity
imposed yone'senvironmentan n the ndbe considerediberating.or
Dominicans
o submit
o the
ogic
of North
American
acial
polarities,
o
internalize
xtraneous aradigms
f
identity,
ould
be to
disregard
he
complexity
f
their
wnnational
xperience
s
regards
nterracialelations.
But
perhaps
e cannot
ffordhe
uxury
f
uch
ubtleties. hat
onilla
has
said
ofPuerto icans
pplies qually
well oDominicans:
ur
complacency
and
quivocation
ith
espect
orace nd
ven
urmore
enuine
ccommo-
dation
f
racial
differenceave ittle
lace
here.
.
.
We
cannot
ontinue
o
pretend
o
be an
sland
f
ivility
nd
racial
harmony
ntouched
y
he torm
of racial
conflict hat
urroundss"
(Bonilla,
1980:
464).
Along
with
he
Puerto icans nd ll other eoplesdominatedy heWest,wecomefrom
background
hat
as
"taught
s to
experience
lackness
s
misfortune,"
nd
to
pass
the
test
of our
moral
trength,
t
behoovesus
individually
nd
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Torres-Saillant
DOMINICANRACIAL
IDENTITY 143
collectively
o stand
p forwhat s black
nus as proudly
s we do
for ur
Dominicanness
Bonilla, 980:
464).
We
can
already oint
o
nstances
fproud ssertion
fblackness
within
Dominicanness
n thediaspora,
s many
membersf the
ommunityave
come
to terms ith
he
unsung ortion
ftheir thnicnd
cultural
eritage.
The U.S.-educated
ominican
oetChiquiVicioso's
often-quoted
Until
came
oNewYork,
didn't
now
was black"describes
he tate f
mind f
many
ominicans
n this
ountryShorris,
992:
146).Moya Pons
argued
some years gothat ominicans ad discoveredheirblackroots"n the
United
tates nd
hat hey
ave nfluenced
heir ative
and
bybringing
heir
discovery
ome.
He viewed hereturn igrants
s "new social agents
f
modernity,
apitalism,
ndracial mancipation"hat
ad contributedo the
overall
ransformation
f
Dominican
ociety
nd the
Dominicanmind-a
claim
hat e llustratedy pointing
o
thevogue
njoyed
n
the
Dominican
Republic y
hairstyles,ress, opular
music,
ndother xpressions
ssoci-
ated
with
African mericans
s well
as to the
popularity
f dark-skinned
artists
nd
politicians
1981:
32-33).
Judgedrom he
vantage oint
f
the
present,
hen
we witness virtual
consensus
n
he
Dominican
epublic egarding
he
mage
freturn
igrants
as
a
menace o thehealth
fDominicanociety,
hedistinguished
istorian
may
have overstated
is case.
A
point
n his
favor, hough, ay
be that
he
antipathy
nd
rejection
onfronted
y
Dominican
eturn
migrants
n
the
homeland
may conceal
a timorouscknowledgment
f
their
nfluence n
mainstream
ominicanociety.ut
he
pirit
f
Moya's
claims
ontinues
o
find
orroboration,
or
xample,
n
Duany's 1998
[this ssue])
analysis
n
this
volume f the ransformation
hat ominicans ndergo
s
they xperi-
ence
nternational
igration.
No people sksto become diaspora; nfortunateircumstancesender
it
o.
Whatever
uffering
ominicans
ave ndured n
the
oreign
hores
o
which espair
asdrivenhem,hey
ave lso earned o
ee themselves
ore
fully
nd more
airly,articularly
n mattersfrace.
The
ong truggles
or
equality
nd
ocial
ustice ypeople
f olor
n
he
United
tates
ave
yielded
invaluableessons rom
hich ominican eople
n
the
diaspora
nd
n the
native
and have
drawn nd
may
continue
o
drawempowerment.
he
diaspora
willrendern nestimableervice
otheDominican
eople
f
t
can
help
to rid
the country
f white upremacist
hought
nd negrophobic
discourse
n
the
xtent o
which
hose berrations
urvive here. ltimately,
this elebratoryetrospectiveaybring urblack onsciousnessnto ocus
in the
national
rena
n a
way
hat
efies
acial
xtremism.
hiswill
be,
n a
word,
he
evelopment
f
black
wareness
ith
Dominican
ifference.
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144 LATINAMERICANPERSPECTIVES
NOTE
1.Theclaim hat lack ervants
ayhave rrived ith olumbus
imselfn his econd rip
to
the
colony,
choed
by Mellafe 1964:
18),
seems to
have
lost
currency,ut there s a
scholarship,nspired y
Leo
Weiner's frica nd the
Discovery fAmerica1920), that osits
a
pre-Columbian
frican
resence
n
heAmericas
Van ertima,
976:
14).
Without
onfronting
that
iew,
his rticle dheres
o
the
cholarly
onsensus
rawn
rom
irect
eferencesoblacks
in the
writtenocuments
rom
he
irst
ecade
fthe
olonial
ransaction.
REFERENCES
AlfauDuran, etilio
1994Escritos n Clio.
Publicaciones el Sesquicentenarioe a Independencia acional .
SantoDomingo:Gobierno ominicano.
Anon
1906 SantoDomingo:
A
Brief f
the
sland,
ts
Resources,ndCommercialossibilities,
with pecialReferenceo the
Treaty
ow
Pending n theUnited tates enate.New York:
New York ommercial.
Bonilla, rank
1980 "Beyond urvival: or
que seguiremos iendo
puertorriquefios,"p.
453-464
in
Adalberto 6pez
ed), ThePuertoRicans:TheirHistory,ulture,ociety. ochester,T:
Schenkman.
Bosch,Juan
1986 Composicionocial dominicana. 5th d. SantoDomingo: ditora lfa
y Omega.
Cassa, Roberto
1992
Historia
ocial
y economica
e
la
Republica
Dominicana.Vol.1.
Santo Domingo:
Editora lfay Omega.
Courtney, . S.
1860
TheGoldFields
of
anto
Domingo.
ew
York:
Anson .
Norton.
Davis,Martha llen
1987 La otra ciencia:El vodu dominicano omo religio'n medicina opulares. anto
Domingo: ditora niversitaria.
Deive,
CarlosEsteban
1990 La herenciafricanan a cultura ominicana
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105-141
n
Bernardo ega
(ed.), nsayos
obre
ulturaominicana.nd d. anto
omingo:
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ominicana/
Museodel Hombre ominicano.
1992 Vodu magia
en
SantoDomingo. rd dition. anto
Domingo: undaci6n ultural
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De
la
Gandara, ose
1975
Anexion guerra
e
Santo
Domingo.
anto
Domingo:
ditora anto
Domingo.
Del
Monte,
elix
Maria
1979
"Cantos
dominicanos,"p.
244-246 n
Emilio
Rodrfguez
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