Book Review: Black in Latin America by Henry Louis Gates, Jr

This book was awesome and so very enlightening. This is also apart of a documentary series that Gates, Jr. made as well. This study in Latin American culture examines the African remanants/sometimes well hidden communities of Mexico, Peru, DR, Cuba, Hati and Brazil. He seamlessly flows from one country to another including his own thoughts, parralells to race relations in the US and also leaves each area with a newfound respect for the black struggle there and most importantly leaves you with something to think about at each turn.

Gates, Jr meets with notable scholars from each country as well as local townspeople to find out what "being black" means in a particular country, to a particular person and in that particular society. As an African American, Latino or Blacktino, you will never be able to view the ideas of blackess quite the same. I truly am a fan of this book as the underrepresented and little heard of black communities in the Spanish caribbean/south american continent have always interested me. This book made me want to embark on the same type of cultural journey and look at it from an artistic point of view. All of the blacks of these societies have infiltrated their respective countries through song, dance, art, writing and performance. In many cases, this is the only way the African influence/prescence is even recognized. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and recommend it to anyone interested in social and/or Pan-african/ Latino issues.