Ms. Samantha Prado Robledo
BIO
Samantha Prado Robledo is a fourth year doctoral student in the Education Studies program at the University of California, San Diego. She is a first-generation college student and second-generation Mexican American. She earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Sociology at California State University San Marcos. Her research interests are colorism among Latinx communities and the role of research programs in student educational access and success.
Presentation
Session 1-A. Colorism Among Latinx Communities: The Relationship Between Skin Color and Assimilation.
DescriptionThis presentation highlights the role colorism plays on assimilatory processes and how these can be reflected on attitudes embracing a White identity among Latinx communities. Latinx communities are mistakenly seen as monolithic when they are diverse in ethnoracial composition, which in turn impacts their racial perception and assimilation process in the United States. Sociological theories argue that Latinxs who can pass as White -honorary white- are able to receive many benefits which their dark skin counterparts are denied (Bonilla-Silva 2002). This presentation also examines how the psychodynamics of colonialism have played a role in blanqueamiento in modern day and blood quantum among Latinxs. Social inequalities based on race and skin color persist in the U.S. and are perpetuated by interlocking systems of oppression, yet they affect Latinx communities in disproportionate and different ways.
Previous studies show that dark-skinned Latinxs tend to face downward assimilation through less access to education, employment, dating pools, and marriage markets (Hunter 2007). By highlighting the importance of skin color as a predictor of assimilation views and exploring unstudied divisions among Latinxs around colorism, this presentation seeks to bring greater awareness of the relationship between skin color and structured social opportunities and reduce the impact of colorism on social justice issues through educational discussion.
DescriptionThis presentation highlights the role colorism plays on assimilatory processes and how these can be reflected on attitudes embracing a White identity among Latinx communities. Latinx communities are mistakenly seen as monolithic when they are diverse in ethnoracial composition, which in turn impacts their racial perception and assimilation process in the United States. Sociological theories argue that Latinxs who can pass as White -honorary white- are able to receive many benefits which their dark skin counterparts are denied (Bonilla-Silva 2002). This presentation also examines how the psychodynamics of colonialism have played a role in blanqueamiento in modern day and blood quantum among Latinxs. Social inequalities based on race and skin color persist in the U.S. and are perpetuated by interlocking systems of oppression, yet they affect Latinx communities in disproportionate and different ways.
Previous studies show that dark-skinned Latinxs tend to face downward assimilation through less access to education, employment, dating pools, and marriage markets (Hunter 2007). By highlighting the importance of skin color as a predictor of assimilation views and exploring unstudied divisions among Latinxs around colorism, this presentation seeks to bring greater awareness of the relationship between skin color and structured social opportunities and reduce the impact of colorism on social justice issues through educational discussion.