The Black Grandma In The Closet: A Film Analysis

In the first weeks of class we discussed how in the telling of history, there is always more than one “historical truth” and in these “truths” history has been edited to benefit different agendas. Because history can be easily manipulated, the lecture stressed how significant these revisions can be in the formation of master narratives. However, we reviewed how through recovery projects, counter-narratives have started to refute these previously “truths.” In these contested recollections we acknowledged at times this new information can be hard to emotionally process. This brings me to the topic of slavery. Up until a few months ago, slavery never crossed my mind as anything other than a horrible and dark chapter in both Northern American and European history. I understood that
Although I had previously noticed some racial undertones in Mexican culture, I never fully questioned the root of this discrimination. It was far too easy for me to overlook racism in Mexican culture- when racism in America was far more visible. In class, we watched part of a documentary called, “The Black Grandma in the Closet,” from the series Black in Latin America. In the first portion of the film, Professor Gates mentions how Mexico unintentionally transpired “a policy of whitening” through the removal of racial categories. Noting the 1925 publication of Jose Vasconcelos’ essay “The Cosmic Race,” Professor Gates explains how Vasconcelos’ attempt to unite the people of Mexico by establishing one great mixed race ultimately diminished black identity. This revelation was made personal when the Port of Veracruz was stated to be the most widely used port to carry black slaves to Mexico. I say this because half of my family lives in Veracruz and my father spent the majority of his young adult life