The report, published on Monday, is based on a survey conducted in March 2021 among a randomly selected sample of 3,375 adult Hispanics, extracted from panels originally hired using probability-based methods.
Among darker-skinned Latinos, about 41 percent said they had been discriminated against or treated unfairly by another Latino, and 42 percent said they had been discriminated against by non-Hispanics, the study found.
Lighter-skinned Latinos said they were discriminated against, but not as much as dark-skinned Latinos. The researchers found that about 25 percent of those surveyed said the discrimination came from other Hispanics, while 29 percent said it was from non-Hispanics, the report said.
Although there is no general breakdown of how respondents trace their heritage, the survey shows that Latin American country of origin influences their experience of discrimination.
About a third of Hispanics born outside the United States or Puerto Rico say they have faced discrimination or unfair treatment from another Hispanic, the study found. In a previous report, Pew researchers said that 40% of respondents said that discrimination based on race or skin color was roughly the same in their place of birth and in the United States.
Anna Gonzalez-Barrera, a senior researcher at the Pew Research Center, said the report highlights an aspect of discrimination faced by Latinos in America that has not been widely studied in the past.
“There is not much talk of Latin Americans trying to be discriminated against by the group,” Gonzalez-Barrera said. “There’s not a lot of research, at least not something you can point out.”
Overall, Hispanics said they were criticized for speaking Spanish in public (23%), calling offensive names (20%), and almost all said they sometimes or often heard their Latin American friends and family members say racially insensitive comments or jokes.
Gonzalez-Barrera said researchers found that younger Hispanics were more likely to report hearing these comments or experiencing discrimination than people aged 65 and over.
The study shows that half of Latinos aged 18 to 29 report hearing these racially insensitive comments aimed at Latinos and non-Hispanics. About 38% of Hispanics aged 65 and over said they had heard other Hispanics make similar comments. Latinos with college experience are more likely to say the same than those with lower levels of education, researchers said.
Colorism is deep in Spanish and social mobility in parts of Latin America is highly dependent on a person’s skin tone for generations, experts say.
“There is still a belief in popular culture, whether subconscious or not, that if you marry someone who is lighter than you, you have a better chance of upward mobility,” said Maria Pena, a Spanish media spokeswoman. of the Library of Congress on CNN.
After the assassination of George Floyd, US activists and senior Latin American leaders said it was time for Latin Americans to explore and fight their own racism and colorism.
“We remained silent when our team encouraged us to partner with people who have lighter skin than us so that we can improve the race. “We hated ourselves for our skin color, hair texture, curves and our accents,” wrote the leaders of prominent organizations in a letter published in The Miami Herald.
Months later, an incident between a Latin American woman and a black teenager in New York showed how anti-black sentiment was embedded in the Latino community.
Mia Ponceto was seen in a video attacking a 14-year-old boy who was with his father at the Arlo Hotel and accused the boy of stealing her mobile phone, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said. Investigators later found that the teenager did not pick up her phone.
Ponceto insisted that race was not a factor in the accident. Earlier this year, she pleaded guilty to second-degree unlawful imprisonment as a hate crime.
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