Report: About 6 million People In U.S. Identify As Afro-Latino
An estimated 6 million adults in the United States identify as Afro Latino, representing about 2 percent of the U.S. population and 12 percent of the nation’s diverse Latino community, according to a Pew Research Center survey published on May 2.
The report, based on a survey conducted from November 2019 to June 2020, reveals the complexity and nuances of Latino identity that stems from a history of racial intermingling across Latin America among white Europeans, Indigenous people and enslaved Africans.
“Afro Latino identity is a distinct one, with deep roots in colonial Latin America. As a result, it can often exist alongside a person’s Hispanic, racial or national origin identities,” wrote researcher and author Ana Gonzalez-Barrera.
“The life experiences of Afro Latinos are shaped by race, skin tone and other factors, in ways that differ from other Hispanics. And though most Afro Latinos identify as Hispanic or Latino, not all do so.”
Citing a report from the Princeton University’s Project on Ethnicity and Race in Latin America, Gonzalez-Barrera said about 15 times as many African slaves were taken to Spanish and Portuguese colonies than the U.S. Today, about 130 million people of African descent live in Latin America.
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The 2020 U.S. Census Bureau’s data shows there are 1.2 million people of all ages who identify as Afro Latino – significantly lower than Pew’s findings.
According to the researchers, the difference stems from how surveyors ask the self-identity question. Pew asked the respondents whether they self-identify as Afro Latino separate from other questions on race or ethnicity. By contrast, the Census Bureau counted as Afro Latinos anyone who identifies as Hispanic and Black in two separate questions.
“The thing to consider here is that Afro Latino identity transcends racial identity and cannot be captured by a checkbox-type of question where you mark your ethnicity,” the Associated Press quoted Gonzalez-Barrera.
