Chris Mitchell sitting in the backyard of his (paternal) grandmother's home.
For the earlier parts of my life, I grew up with my dad's parents for a while while my mom was finishing up high school. So I was introduced to black, African-American, culture, first and then it wasn't until I was six or seven that I moved in with mom and was introduced to my Mexican side of the family… because I was so young, that transition from my dad’s to my mom’s didn't really feel all that different to me…
In middle school, People would ask me ‘Oh what are you?’
I'd be like, I am black and Mexican
They'd be like, ‘Oh, for real, I thought you were just mixed [black and white].’
Audio (5:08 min)
I first heard about Afro-Latinidad in late high school/early college. I don't think I heard too many people identifying in that way, but as I started to think about it and I was like ‘I'm pretty sure I fall under that category.’ It fit because it's really all encompassing of what I understand myself to be… it gives me a better sounding way of saying im black and Mexican.
