Marah Betillman

Joseph Furlong 

Writing for Social Sciences

08 April 2025

What are the differences in Black women and Dominican women’s self image in America ?

Black Americans as well as Hispanic Americans face a large portion of racism in America. With that being said the racism they face is different and to different magnitudes. Society views these two groups extremely differently, I question how these two groups’ lives differ when it pertains to self image. They both go through a large degree of racism and bias, why aren’t they able to fully come together more, especially since they live in such proximity in NYC. After moving into my current neighborhood I was pushed into this new community with a large portion of Dominican people, a group of people I’d never met or heard of before. This new school full of new people was scary in itself but with the small population of black children, I felt more alone. As I observed this community I saw the way this group of people acted around african american culture. They seem to know and understand the black “struggle” and also align themselves with some of it but they always separated themselves to an extent that you’d think some of these children weren’t black themselves, which leads me to asking what are the differences of Black women and Dominican women self image in America ?

Dominican Republic, a North American country in the Caribbean. The people of what’s commonly called DR have a large population in New York City. We saw a large influx of Dominican immigrants in the 60s with the jewish and irish. They have become a large portion of the Bronx over the years and have integrated into New York culture. You hear the community as you walk down their blocks “…“Dimelo” and “Que lo que” (both Spanish for “What’s up”) are heard down every block” and hear the ascending volume of Bachata, a Latin musical genre originating from the Dominican Republic, blasting from vehicles and apartment buildings alike” (ortiz) They have made a community for themselves in New York. They’ve created business including restaurants that sell their food all over nyc. They are loved by the community.

Dominican Self Image 

I had a very telling conversation with a fellow student. I explained my thought process on this topic and specified “ I think Dominican immigrants and Dominican America people will have different answers as well as latinas and afro latinas” he stared blankly at me and questioned me “afro latinas?” and I was shocked by his confession “yes, black dominicans” and his response was a statement i’ve heard all too many times “ They don’t like to be called black.” Now I’m highly aware that all Dominicans are not Black but there is a large population of them that are but they still deny their blackness, which I find interesting. They have an image of black Americans and don’t want to be associated with it. I believe this is due to two things, ignorance and racism. Dominicans have been indoctrinated to believe the same redirect white settlers pushed, even though their people fit some of those characteristics. You see this in the article “There’s no Racism here”, the author, Kiini Ibura Salaam,  describes her time in The Dominican Republic. She explains, this culture is different from America, where the cultures are divided based on factors and therefore a race in America, in the Dominican Republic everyone is Dominican whether you’re black or white. They don’t value “race” in the way Americans do. Furthermore Salaam explains as an African American woman she faced racism by this group of people that claim “‘No hay racismo aquí.’ (There’s no racism here)”, “Dominican racism is at once foreign and familiar. It contains some of the same patterns of self-hatred found in the black communities of the United States. Imagine my surprise when I heard the familiar phrases “bad hair” and “bettering the race” transformed by the Spanish tongue.” The locals following the same redirect told to them furthers the idea that they’re closer to whiteness and therefore they are able to prove to themselves they are better than the “bad blacks.

Black Americans Self-Image 

As a black woman in New York City there is a lot of pride in my community. We have prevailed through the hardships and are able to finally see the fruits of our labor. With that being said Black African American women do have hardships because “race and gender discrimination will affect the wellbeing of African American women” (Middleton). Due to racial injustice black women often question “their ability and belonging due to doubt from the adverse treatment” which can impact how they act and see the world, therefore affecting their self esteem (Middleton). As a child in a predominately black and hispanic neighborhood I was immersed in a large anti- black community from people who look like me. Racism is so engraved into American culture it’s hard to dismantle, so you find yourself perpetuating the same ideals that hurt you. It’s very easy to hate yourself when you find that everyone else does. I find that black women often shrink themselves to fit into a palatable idea of black women.

By pushing yourself into this palatable black woman you’re trying to be closer to whiteness, that’s something a lot of POC do to combat the constant ridicule. I find that Dominican women do something similar, push away certain parts of their culture to be palatable for others, to be noticed as one of the “good ones.” I see that, “… external racial identification by western powers has impacted how Dominican Americans identify racially and they “do not identify their race in terms of Black or White, but in terms of an ethnolinguistic identity, as Dominican/Spanish/Hispanic (Bailey, 2001)” (Rodriguez). Racism towards black people isn’t seen as racism or disrespect to their own because we are not their own. 

After being submerged into a community of Dominican people, I saw the great and bad sides to this culture. In the media and in person I saw the disconnect when Dominican and African Americans women interacted. It posed the question “What are the differences and similarities of Black women and Dominican women’s self image in America ? in my head. I questioned why ,in my opinion, if we were similar, why was there such a disconnect. Why did African Americans face racism at the hands of people so similar? Understanding how each group sees themselves for whatever reason will aid in you understanding why they act the way they do and maybe why they treat others in a certain way. We are all victims of racism so we should come together before throwing stones.

Works Cited

KiiniIbura. “‘There’s No Racism Here?’ a Black Woman in the Dominican Republic.” Apex Book Company, 1 Feb. 2025, www.apexbookcompany.com/a/blog/apex-magazine/post/theres-no-racism-here-a-black-woman-in-the-dominican-republic?srsltid=AfmBOopSuwHViSVE1cKkSV7JChQohFLQ3C8Gx19Uw7kqBoSqxkE1wMVM.

Ortiz, Brennan. “NYC’S Micro Neighborhoods: Little Dominican Republic in Washington Heights, Manhattan – Untapped New York.” Untapped New York, 11 Feb. 2014, www.untappedcities.com/nycs-micro-neighborhoods-little-dominican-republic-in-washington-heights-manhattan.

Middleton, Tanya J., and Delila Owens. “African American Women and Self-Esteem.” The Family Journal, vol. 32, no. 1, Nov. 2023, pp. 33–40, doi:10.1177/10664807231207730.

Yubelky Rodriguez, “Dominican Identity and the Experience of Interpersonal Conflict.” Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses, 12 July 2021, scholarship.shu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4011&context=dissertations. Accessed 15 May 2025.