White Passing People in ATR’s and Brujería

Ok I’m on mobile so bear with me here

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First off let’s establish some things about white passing people:

1. White passing people aka passing people are POC who may not look like what someone may expect them to look like based on race

This means someone who is full one race but looks white or mixed and looks white, and therefore most people see them as white.





2. They do have white privilege

Seeing as they look white, they have white privilege and benefit from it. This is undeniable.





3. They are STILL POC

Yeah they may look white, but they still are POC. Just because someone looks like one race does not mean they don’t have the culture and understanding of their race.

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Now, what about white passing people in ATR and Brujería?

Well, many times passing poc feel like they don’t belong, like they don’t have the rights to these ancestral practices. This is a sense of loneliness and feeling like part of your ancestors won’t accept you or maybe the Orisha wouldn’t want to work with you. Whatever it may be, it is always over nothing.

If you identify with that race, say you are half black and identify with that side, you have every right. This doesn’t mean deny the other side, it just means don’t deny your poc side. If you deny your poc side but try working with your poc ancestors, what makes you think they will want to work with you?

I am half Afro-Cuban and half White. I am definitely white passing. Especially since I no longer have my long curly hair. I was raised with these traditions and they are in my blood, as they are in the other white passing people in the community.

That being said, white people with no recent ancestry? They should not be in these practices, imo, with few exceptions. They were not raised with them, they don’t understand cultural significances, they do things incorrectly. Unless they are properly taught and do things the right way, they should not be doing them at all.

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Passing people are still poc, and while they may benefit from wp they still have the same rights to ATRs and Brujería because that is still part of their ancestry. It is our job as poc, white passing or not, to encourage them in our practices to keep our practices alive.