Black behind the Ears: Dominican Racial Identity from Museums to Beauty Shops » (1st Edition)

Ginetta E. B. Candelario is Associate Professor of Sociology and Latin American and Latina/o Studies at Smith College.

An exploration of Dominican identity formation in the Dominican Republic and the United States. Examines how their definition of race, especially as seen in hair texture, was influenced by U.S. imperialism in the early 19th century through today.

Figures and Tables     ix
Acknowledgments     xi
Introduction. "We Declare That We Are Indians": Dominican Identity Displays and Discourses in Travel Writing, Museums, Beauty Shops, and Bodies     1
"It Is Said That Haiti Is Getting Blacker and Blacker": Traveling Narratives of Dominican Identity     35
"The Africans Have No [Public] History": The Museo del Hombre Dominicano and Indigenous Displays of Dominican Identity     83
"I Could Go the African American Route": Dominicans in the Black Mosaic of Washington, D.C.     129
"They Are Taken into Account for Their Opinions": Making Community and Displaying Identity at a Dominican Beauty Shop in New York City     177
"Black Women Are Confusing, but the Hair Lets You Know": Perceiving the Boundaries of Dominicanidad     223
Conclusion. "Black behind the Ears, and Up Front, Too": Ideological Code Switching and Ambiguity in Dominican Identities     256
Notes     265
References     297
Index     323