Having a Bi-Racial Identity

Meet Ky’Tavia and Maya:

Ky’Tavia is a second year History major and Maya is a second year psychology major attending UCLA. Both women identify as Afro-Latina and aim to bring awareness to their Bi-racial identity and cultures. Since they were kids they’ve always had the challenge of trying to learn how to fit in on both sides. Struggling with not being able to speak Spanish, coping with a language barrier, and also often being denied of their blackness are experiences that are all too often identical for people with the Afro Latinx identity. Check out the stories these two have to share and hear some ways that they’ve learned to embrace their identity rather than reject it.

Definitions:

Code switching: process of shifting from one linguistic code (a language or dialect) to another, depending on the social context or conversational setting (Britannica)

Afro-Latin Americans or Black Latin Americans refers to Latin American people of significant African ancestry. The term may also refer to historical or cultural elements in Latin America thought to have emanated from this community (wikipedia)