The Hispanic/Latino Population in the United States: Our Black Identity, Our Health and Well-Being

• Published in: American journal of public health (1971) 2024-07, Vol.114 (S6), p.S444-S449
• Main Authors: Borrell, Luisa N, Viladrich, Anahí
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Black or African American - statistics & numerical data; Black people; Census; Censuses; Classification; Ethnic groups; Ethnic identity; Ethnicity; Family income; Health disparities; Health status; Hispanic Americans; Hispanic or Latino - statistics & numerical data; Hispanics/Latinas; Humans; Identification; Inequality; Minority & ethnic groups; Opinions, Ideas, & Practice; Oppression; Population; Race; Race/Ethnicity; Racial discrimination; Racism; Social construction; Sociodemographics; Socioeconomic Factors; Subgroups; United States; Well being
• ISSN: 0090-0036; 1541-0048; 1541-0048
• DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2024.307682

The Hispanic/Latino population represents the only recognized ethnic group by the US Census and the largest minoritized subgroup of the US population. As of 2022, Hispanic/Latino people constitute 19.1% of the US population (63.6 million),1 a group that is expected to more than double by 2050 (128 million).2 While Hispanic/Latino people (hereafter referred to as Hispanic) are aggregated under the ethnicity category in the US Census and, by default, considered a monolithic or homogenous population, they are very heterogeneous. Hispanic people comprise those who self-identify with one or more of at least 19 Latin American and Caribbean countries,3 with almost a third being foreign-born (32%).4 Because of their colonialization history, Hispanic people have European, African, and Native Indigenous ancestries.5 Consequently, the Hispanic population can be of, and self-identify with, any race in the US decennial Census; and, as shown in the 2020 US Census, a large proportion self-identified with "Some Other Race" alone (42.2%); 20.3% self-identified as White and 1.9% as Black. Given the salience of race in US society, self-identification with White and Black categories is crucial for our understanding of racial health inequities, especially those experienced by Hispanic Black people. Race is a multidimensional and dynamic social construct rooted in racism, a system of oppression that unequally distributes resources and opportunities across population subgroups-disproportionately impacting Black and other minoritized people.7 This systematic oppression creates and perpetuates health inequities in the United States and, particularly among Hispanic people who self-identify as Black, may lead to the same or similar health outcomes to those reported by the non-Hispanic Black population. Thus, this commentary has a three-fold aim. First, it describes the demographic characteristics of Hispanic people who self-identify as Black relative to their peers, who see themselves as White vis-a-vis the Hispanic population as a whole, and those who self-identify as non-Hispanic White and Black. Second, it provides a conceptual framework for how such self-identification affects Hispanic Blacks' health status and wellbeing. Finally, it discusses the implications of self-identifying as Black with respect to the health and well-being of the Hispanic/Latino population.