Oh, good question! “Hispanic” isn’t a race either. It’s an ethnic category referring to people from Spanish-speaking countries. So, a Dominican is Hispanic. But a Dominican can be white Hispanic, black Hispanic, or any shade in between. It’s like being part of the “Spanish speakers club,” but the club has a wildly diverse dress code.
Black activists take on Dominican government and society in quest for
Think of it this way: you can be a black Dominican, a white Dominican, or an Indio Dominican. You are always a Dominican first. And you are definitely always Hispanic if you’re speaking Spanish.
The “Joke” We Tell Ourselves
There’s a classic Dominican joke: “¿Y tu abuela, dónde está?” (And your grandmother, where is she?). It’s a playful way of reminding everyone that we almost all have a Black grandmother or Indigenous ancestor hiding in the family tree. We tease each other about it because, deep down, we know it’s the glue that holds us together.
It’s a beautiful mess. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. Trying to put a Dominican into a single racial box is like trying to fit a merengue beat into a funeral dirge—it just doesn’t work.
