Black History Month has been observed in the United States since 1926. This year, it has taken on new significance as the country celebrates the historic election of the first African-American President. Up to the present, the celebrations of Black History Month focused on persons who and actions which have had a significant impact on the history of our country.

However, there is a sub-group among the Black population which is uncertain whether or not the commemoration includes them as well: Black Latinos, or Afro-Latinos, a double minority. This is not exactly an identity crisis, but it says a great deal about how these people perceive themselves and about the factors they consider as part of their identity.

Carmen, a Black Dominican hairdresser, born in Santo Domingo and raised in New York and Miami, says she considers herself to be Hispanic. “I hate when I have to choose between Black and Hispanic,” she says. “My race is the human race.” She laments the fact that her daughters have sometimes come home from school in tears because Hispanic children have called them Black.

The 2000 census counted nearly a million Black Americans of Latino origins. Of the Latinos in the United States who identify themselves as Black, twenty-eight percent live in New York. They come in large part from Caribbean countries – including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico - where African roots are deep and date back from the 15th century.

According to historians, European invaders virtually annihilated the indigenous groups who inhabited some of the islands, and replaced them with African slaves to supply their need for workers. This is the reason why many Caribbean people bear a mixture of indigenous, African and European blood, with occasional Asian influences. This is not only evident in their cuisine, religion and music, but also in the color of the skin.

According to a 2003 report on race from the Inter-American Dialogue, the country with the greatest percentage of people of African descent is the Dominican Republic, with 84 percent. It is followed by Cuba with 62 percent, Brazil with 45 percent, Colombia with 26 percent, Panama with 14 percent, and in Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Peru have less than 10 percent of the population with African roots.

Since we are a multi-ethnic, multi-racial and culturally pluralistic society, it is common practice for the information in the United States to be divided into sub-groups. Thus, when given the choice to identify themselves as Black or as Hispanic, many Black Latinos prefer to say they are Hispanic; however, this does not make things any clearer.

It is not just their skin color, but also the accent of their voices that exposes these people to a double discrimination. As Afro-Latinos, they are subject to resentment on the part of some Blacks who accuse them of denying their African origins. And while Black Hispanics have an advantage over White Hispanics when it comes to educational opportunities, their economic levels are worse and unemployment rates higher.

So if there is anything that unifies Latinos - aside from the color of their skins - it is language.

For Carmen, it was a relief to see that in her daughters' school a distinction was made between ethnic and racial origins in identifying the children, which allows the girls to be both Black and Hispanic. It is now their good fortune that they can celebrate both Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month.