On Thursday, July 11, 2024, the unique experiences of Afro-Latinos in the U.S. and covering the community ahead of the 2024 general election were the focus of a panel discussion at the annual National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) Conference featuring Dr. Nancy López, author of UCLA LPPI report “Centering Black Latinidad: A Profile of the U.S.”

Dr. López highlighted the need for an intersectional approach as a ethnical and normative principle. An intersectional approach acknowledges that race as a visual status and ethnicity as a cultural heritage status are analytically distinct and require different questions in data collection for revealing complex inequalities that would otherwise remain invisible. 

“We all must realize the important role media plays in shaping narratives and influencing public perceptions that Latinos are not a racial or ethnic monolith; this includes Afro-Latinos from different ethnic backgrounds, said Dr. López. ”It’s essential that media representation is inclusive and that reporting accurately portrays the diversity within the Latino community.

As a 2023 UCLA LPPI analysis of the Los Angeles Times newsroom shows, a lack of Latinos in the newsroom decreases the authorship of opinion pieces and editorial content. With the number of Afro-Latinos growing almost twice the rate for non-Black Latinos from 2000 to 2019, it further underscores the critical need for better representation in media. 

When asked about her aspirations for reporting on Latinos in this upcoming election, Dr. Lopez said, “My hope is that more and more reporters take an intersectional approach when reporting about Latinos that dispels the myth of the Latino vote being just one way or the other. It is also important to underscore that the recent revisions to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidelines, which shapes how the 2030 Census data will be collected, did not prohibit federal agencies from adding separate race/visual status and ethnicity/cultural heritage questions. This provides the public with an opportunity to advocate for additional questions to be added to federal surveys as well as the decennial Census”

While the event was held before the sudden changes in the Democratic presidential ticket, the issue is particularly timely as a woman of color now leads the ticket, highlighting the urgent need for increasing diversity and representation in newsrooms across the U.S.

The panel also included Aisha Al-Muslim of The Wall Street Journal, Lori Montenegro, of Noticias Telemundo, and Camila DeChalus of CNN.