A review by carrienation76
Racial Innocence: Unmasking Latino Anti-Black Bias and the Struggle for Equality by Tanya Katerí Hernández

4.0

For better and for worse, you cannot unknow the things you learn in this book. Hernández posits that Latino anti-blackness is a pervasive problem that will continue to undermine the struggle for equality until it is exposed and addressed. It's more than replicating racist American cultural norms and supporting white supremacy. Hernández traces its roots to the slave trade in Latin America and the Caribbean, positioning the current state as layered complications based on country of origin, family dynamics, immigration timeline, and socioeconomic status. With the hyperfocus on white power structures in the story of Black oppression, it's easy to miss the alarming patterns that Hernández threads together. We forget that George Zimmerman, the man who murdered Trayvon Martin, is Peruvian American; that Sandra Bland's arresting officer, Brian Encinia, is ethnically Latino; that Enrique Tarrio, chairman of the Proud Boys, is Afro-Cuban; that Latino Americans showed up for Charlottesville and the Jan. 6th Capitol Attack. Hernández presents an endless stream of studies analyzing Black-Latino relations in all aspects of life, from education to employment to housing. From there, she adds depth through narratives that explore how far the breakdown goes. Hernández's key contribution to Critical Race Theory in this book is the emphasis that "Latinos can't be racist" is flawed and impedes Afro-Latinos and Black people from pursuing justice in cases of discrimination and hate crimes committed by Latinos. Brilliant book that will reframe your understanding of contemporary race relations.