The Politics of Being Afro-Latino/Latina: Ethnicity, Colorism, and Political Representation in Washington, D.C. [Paperback]

Historically, Afro-Latinos/as have been underrepresented in political offices in the District of Columbia. Isreal G. Mallard explores the social/racial factors that influence the political attitudes of Afro-Latino/a voters, the Latino voting community at-large, and political representatives. Also, the author examines factors such as ethnicity and pigmentocracy (skin color) which play a role in electing an Afro-Latino/a to political office in Washington, D.C. Furthermore, he provides answers to address the social/racial factors that influence the electability of light-skin and dark-skin, self-identified Afro-Latinos/as running for political office in Washington, D.C. In addition, he discusses how social/racial factors influence the pathway to political office for self-identified Afro-Latinos/as. He uses a qualitative methodological approach which includes interview participants to provide answers to this study.Isreal G. Mallard works as an independent researcher in Afro-Latino/a Affairs.

In The Politics of Being Afro-Latino/Latina: Ethnicity, Colorism, and Political Representation in Washington, D.C., Isreal G. Mallard provides explanations for the inability of Afro-Latinos/as to win elective offices in the District of Columbia (D.C.). Yet, the book does more than this by examining the taboo subject of colorism and its impact on Afro-Latinos/as. In this book, Dr. Mallard explains its dominant role in the Afro-Latino/a community and its impact on DC politics. Through the usage of Racial Democracy Theory, Mallard provides an interesting, thoroughly researched, and compelling analysis that will force his readers to view to think about the way in which color both divides communities and disadvantages some candidates more than others. Sharon D. Austin, University of Florida

Isreal G. Mallards The Politics of Being Afro-Latino/Latina: Ethnicity, Colorism, and Political Representation in Washington, D.C. is a vibrant and compelling study that breaks ground olóÙ