Location: Levenson Room, Portsmouth Public Library

Panelists:
Andres Mejia, Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice, Exeter Region Cooperative School District (SAU 16)
Shantel Palacio, Administrative Education Officer, New York City Department of Education
Pedro Altagracia, Director of Diversity and Inclusion for Easter Seals New England

Moderator: Larissa Baia (TBC), President, Lakes Region Community College, Laconia, NH

Traditionally, Black and Brown American populations have seen themselves in a natural alliance in a country historically dominated by whites — an alliance of mostly poorer, darker-skinned minorities whose struggles are similar. However, in recent times the Black/Brown coalition has grown more and more strained with the influx of immigrants into neighborhoods that were, in many cases, previously dominated by Blacks. Many Blacks resent what is seen as Hispanics leapfrogging them up the socioeconomic ladder and point to the strong skin-color prejudices and colorism that divides the two communities. “¿Y Tu Abuela Donde Esta?” (Where is Your Grandmother?) by the Puerto Rican poet Fortunato Vizcarrondo explores this tension within the Black/Brown community.

This panel will explore the issues of colorism, for people within this vast group of ethnicities that although joined together by a common language and culture, experience racism within their own group.