Anti-Racism and Decolonization in the LGBTQ+ Latinx Community
I was born in Colombia. I lived in the States when I was young as an undocumented immigrant and then I moved to Canada as a refugee. I'm gay, I'm cisgender and I'm a community organizer. Most of my passion is in social justice and applying it towards healing and equity. I got involved in anti-racism and decolonization when I was young through informal experiences. I have never faced racism, but I've experienced ethnic discrimination for being Latinx. I’ve witnessed my family members and my community face racism. I started thinking about how to unlearn the value of whiteness and colourism in the Latinx community.A lot of times when I look back on my childhood and the things that people would say around to me, I didn't realize how much racism is normalized in daily conversation. We don't realize how much day to day phrases that people say are racist and how they're making people have these beliefs internalized. They place value on and whiteness being the most valuable skin colour that one can have.
Racism and colonization are intentional. It has a purpose. That's what makes it so difficult to explain to people how history created the systems were in, but how we continue to uphold them. In Colombia people who have white skin or look less Indigenous benefit from white supremacy and colonization. It's difficult to navigate wanting to reconnect and decolonize but also fully understanding that the whiter skin you have, the more privileges, you have.
My work in anti-racism and decolonization stems from love and the hatred of injustice. This work affects me in multiple ways. It affects the people around me. The people I love the people I care about whether it's anti-racism or decolonization work. It's impossible to not care about things that affect the people you love. It’s largely being compassionate and empathizing with those who are suffering or those who are oppressed. That’s what drives this work.
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