La problemática de las categorías raciales en Estados Unidos: El caso de los afrocubanos

Although studies show the successful adaptation of Cuban exiles in Miami, little research has examined the experiences of recent Cuban immigrants who have settled in refugee relocation sites in the southwestern United States. These recent waves of Cuban immigrants include a large number of Afro-Cubans. In areas where most of the population is of white or Mexican origin, with a much smaller number of African Americans, these Afro-Cubans' adaptation creates identity conflict as they struggle to find a place in the white/black/brown tri-racial system of the U.S. southwest. Based on forty-five interviews with Afro-Cubans in Austin and Albuquerque, we explore the racial and ethnic identification of this group. Our study uses a constructionist approach and explores the ways in which racial and ethnic identities are formed through a dialogue between internal self-appraisal and external classification by others. The results reveal the complexity of identification processes as Afro-Cubans attempt to maintain their identification as both "Black" and "Cuban" at the same time as they resist being forced to choose between the external classifications of "Black" or "Hispanic."