I Am Black: Translated

Samuel A Brooks
Citigroup Global Markets
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dominican Republic Sports & Education Academy (DRSEA)
Born: Honduras, Central America
Live: the Mott Haven area of the South Bronx, NY

I consider myself as an Afro Latino that happens to be born in Honduras Central America. As a young child growing up in Honduras we were considered English people simply because we spoke English. I am racially Black born in Central America with roots in the Caribbean. My grandfather was born in Grenada worked in Panama on the canal and ultimately headed a bit north and settled in La Ceiba Honduras where my mother was born. Interestingly with me, when I am with my Latino friends here in the US to them I am considered Hispanic and when I am with my African American friends, I am considered African America and when I travel to Santo Domingo to them I am either Haitian or “Moreno”. So to me being black is simply identifying myself with my Caribbean heritage and to others it all depends on what assumptions they want to make based on my physical appearance.