Behind The Movement to Get More Afro-Latines in Office

Existing at the intersection of Blackness and Latinidad, Afro-Latines’ absence in public offices across the United States is two-fold. As they belong to two marginalized groups, they face more systemic challenges based on both their race and ethnicity. But it doesn’t end there. Afro-Latines also contend with the erasure of their identity. This lack of acknowledgment starts with the U.S. Census, an institution that, historically, excluded this demographic from its forms, thereby minimizing this group’s size and impact. Without visibility, it’s difficult to pinpoint the specific needs and demands of a community — and exactly why we need to see more Afro-Latines in office. Several groups are aiming to do just that.

While Black Latines have always been part of the history of the Americas, in recent years, Afro-Latinidad has become increasingly recognizable as a distinct identity within Latine communities and across the U.S. as a whole. A 2022 Pew Research Center study revealed that 6 million people in the U.S. identify as Afro-Latine, about 2% of the U.S. population and 12% of the Latine population. These findings expose a huge gap in political representation in the U.S. — there’s an entire community that has almost no representation across local, federal, and legislative levels. At present, there are only three Afro-Latine members of Congress, and they are all men: Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL), of Puerto Rican and Haitian descent; Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), of Dominican descent; and Ritchie Torres (D-NY), of Puerto Rican descent.

Given these disappointing numbers, Latino Victory, an organization dedicated to increasing political power in the Latine community, is building a recruitment pipeline that addresses the obstacles Afro-Latinas might face when running for office. Called Afro Latinas Lead, Latino Victory plans to recruit 50 Afro-Latina candidates by 2025. This initiative grew out of research the organization conducted on the lack of Afro-Latinas in office.

“I would argue that the history around Afro-Latinas in politics is not very positive, as in general, they have had a very hard time being elected into public office,” Latino Victory executive director Katherine Pichardo tells Refinery29 Somos. “According to the 2020 public Census data, there are 62.1 million Latinos living in the United States. But in general, we remain vastly underrepresented in government. Latines represent less than 2% of government positions and the figure is even lower for Latina women, and even lower for Afro-Latinas.” 

Looking at the data, Latino Victory wants to be an agent of change, helping the first Afro-Latina get elected to Congress in the near future. In 2020, the group endorsed Candace Valenzuela, an educator of Mexican and Black American descent, who hoped to be the first Afro-Latina in Congress. She ran as the Democratic nominee for Texas' 24th congressional district, covering the suburbs between Dallas and Fort Worth, but narrowly lost to Republican Beth Van Duyne.

But Pichardo explains that the hurdles start much earlier. Someone has to ask women to run, on average, seven times, and for Afro-Latinas, there is no blueprint to follow.

“The challenge is real,” Pichardo says. “What we identified in terms of obstacles when it comes to Afro-Latinas running for office is a lack of current and reliable research data, racism, colorism, and the self-identification dilemma. We also identified the lack of a pre-existing bench of Afro-Latinas, so building that pipeline has become a real task for us, at all levels of government.”

“At the end of the day, representation is not just about having people who look like us at the tables of power,” Pichardo adds. “It's really about the values those candidates would bring to the table, along with policies that impact our communities in real ways. It’s about reflecting the issues and concerns of our people. So representation is not just about a face; representation is about values and policy and that's why for us, it's important to have the voice of Afro-Latinas be a part of the conversation.”

At the Working Families Party, the inclusion of Afro-Latine candidates is part of a wider effort to build a multi-racial party that defends the interests of working-class people of all races and ethnicities. Nelini Stamp, the party’s director of strategy who is of Puerto Rican and Black American descent, also highlights the importance of finding Afro-Latine candidates who are passionate about the issues they advocate for. For example, in 2023, the party endorsed Orlando Rep. Frost, who supports gun control because of his own experience with gun violence, in the historic race. 

“It's so important that we find folks who are passionate about a multitude of issues, that have specific values that can represent our people,” Stamp says. “And we also need to be talking on the public stage. In establishment politics, they say, 'Latines care about this and white people care about that.' They break us down, and we are able to dismantle that just by being Afro-Latine. We're able to encourage people to think differently. And for us, it’s important that we find people from within the struggle, from communities where they’re seen as community leaders.”

There are very few Afro-Latinas to look up to within the political establishment, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any: Domincan-born Julia Mejia is an At-Large City Councilor in Boston; Kristine Reeves is a member of the Washington House of Representatives; and Amanda Farías, of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent, is a member of the New York City Council, to name a few. 

The Afro-Latina who has conquered the highest elected position in the U.S. is Democrat Sabina Matos; she started working as Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island in 2021. Matos is the first Dominican American elected into statewide public office, and the first Black statewide office holder in Rhode Island. Matos did not realize how impactful her new position was until little girls of color started clapping for her at one of her first events on the job. 

“When I became lieutenant governor, it happened kind of fast, and I was asking myself, ‘Why me? Why now?’” Matos says. “And I went to a vaccination-planning site in one community here in Rhode Island. And when I got there, there was a group of young people, mostly girls of color, and when they saw me they started clapping. I realized that they were so happy to see someone who looks like them in a leadership position in the state of Rhode Island.  I think that's why it's important because there is a next generation of young women of color that have the opportunity to see people that look like them in leadership positions. It's important because they're able to say: ‘Well, if she can do it, so can I.’”

For Matos, Afro-Latinas can use their experiences to develop policy and advocate for issues that affected them in their lives. “I think Latinas can bring the perspective and experience of being Latina, but also the experience of being a Black person within the Latine community within the United States,” she adds. “We bring our own personal experience and challenges, and we're able to inform our policies and decision-making based on that experience.”

Supporting Afro-Latinas monetarily and emotionally as they go through a process they haven’t experienced before goes a long way. Latino Victory helped Matos in her political endeavors.

“The work that the Latino Victory is doing is crucial because it's helping us to build a pipeline, but also it’s letting these young Latina women know that they’re not alone, that they will find support through the process,” Matos says. “For me, running for office for this position, it was very comforting to be able to count on the support of Latino Victory. It's so important  for Latinas wondering if they should run that they know they're not going to be going through this alone, and that there is going to be a network of security here to help them and support them.”

According to Pichardo, building this candidate pipeline is a multi-year process and Latino Victory has specific goals for measuring its efforts. “Success means three things. No. 1, we want to recruit and train 50 Latinas on the A to Zs of running for office by 2025. No. 2, we expect to build a pipeline of Afro-Latinas for running and winning offices all across the political spectrum — state, local, and federal governments. And No. 3, we hope to elect the first Afro-Latina to Congress by 2026.”