VivirLatino

If we had racial identity issues before, one Florida school district wants to make sure Latinos have more, by forcing them to choose black or white when wanting to join a biracial committee.

Hispanics might be able to join an Orange County schools biracial committee, but they would have to call themselves “white” or “black,” a district spokesman said Thursday.

A 1964 court order creating the committee requires its members to be one of the two races, the district explained.

But Hispanic activists who staged a protest Thursday called that compromise ridiculous and an insult to their multiracial culture.

“What color do I get to pick because I’m more like copper-toned?” asked Emilio Pérez, president of the Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida. “And how would we include an Asian person in this debate?”

It’s important to note that the court order from back in the day came at a time when “Latino” wasn’t even a category (it still isn’t a race) and at a time when racial segregation was rampant in the school system. Pero that said, doesn’t it seem odd that in order to join a biracial committee you have to choose one race?

Props to LatinoPundit via Twitter for this story.

Via / Orlando Sentinel