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White passing and non-Black Latin@s, lend me your ears (erm... eyes)! We are a part of the racial injustice problem. A thread: 1/15
If you are not standing up right now and saying enough is enough, and if you are not taking anti-racist action, you are part of the problem. 2/15
First of all I must say, we should support calls for racial justice actively because it is the right thing to do. PERIOD. 3/15
With that said, right now you might be saying “esto no es conmigo... I’m Latin@“ or “we suffer from injustices too.” To you I say: You are exactly who I’m talking to. 4/15
To begin, stop distracting from the current problem Black people are facing. We do suffer injustices, but that’s why it’s important we stand by others who also do. We have to stop injustice together. 5/15
There will be a time to shine a light on injustices toward Latin@s, but right now we need to focus on what’s happening in the Black community. By the way, Afro Latin@s are a significant and beautiful part of our community, and they are suffering immensely. 6/15
Second, as a group, we have been conditioned by the colonizer to aspire to whiteness, as though that makes us more worthy or valuable. And we drank that Kool-Aid. 7/15
You have been taught to value white skin over black skin. You have been taught to be complicit in the racist systems that oppress Black bodies without realizing how much this affects you and our people. You have been taught to see Black life as less valuable. 8/15
But don’t get it twisted... No matter how much your grandmother told you marry whiter to “mejorar la raza,” you likely have Indigenous and Black blood running through your veins. 9/15
Amig@, you can be racist, too. Yes! Even though you’re Latin@. If you benefit from the systems that oppress Black people, you may never have even thought about this. 10/15
I ask you to closely examine what you were taught about whiteness and blackness growing up, and then tell me whether it’s impossible. 11/15
Being Latin@ does not exempt you from the need to be actively anti-racist. Mi gente, we have to stand side by side with our black brothers and sisters. In fact, the fact that you are Latin@ includes you necessarily (no one is excempt). 12/15
Please, don’t turn a blind eye. Educate yourself about your own roots and the history of systemic racism here and in our countries. It is heartbreaking. There’s so much unlearning to do after all the ways in which we were colonized. 13/15
At the end of the day, even if you still think you don’t care because it doesn’t affect you, examine *that* attitude closely because there is something wrong in the premise. 14/15
And to close, if you’re a white passing or non-black Latin@, I am happy engage in meaningful discussion on this topic with you. We all need to be actively anti-racist and dismantle this system. Every voice counts. Let’s get to work because #BlackLivesMatter 
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