BROWN ENOUGH

An Afro-Latino actor blends memoir with broader reflections on race, exclusion, and contemporary America in this debut book.

In addition to his acting repertoire, which includes a recurring role in the Fox television series Call Me Kat, Rivas considers race and ethnicity in America through his podcasts and writings, which include a viral article in the New York Times in which he discussed breaking up with his girlfriend “because she was white.” Indeed, while this book provides plenty of juicy behind-the-scenes stories that will delight fans of Hollywood and pop culture, the book’s strength lies in its exploration of how Rivas’ experiences connect to a broader conversation on race and belonging in America. He was once told by a Hollywood insider, for example, that he looked “more urban than Latin” and to replace his Dominican curls with a crew cut to look more racially “neutral.” He was also told that Latinos should not interject their perspectives on conversations about “Black and white” race relations in the U.S. These anecdotes, to the author, connect to a larger trend in America where brown people are cursed “to not exist” in a dichotomous racial system that demarcates between Black and White. A doctoral candidate whose academic work centers on global health and peace building, Rivas dedicates this book “to all the little Brown kids who need to see themselves grander and more vibrant.” Interspersed throughout his biting social commentary is a celebration of brown voices, which, to him, extends beyond Latinx communities to “any Brown-skinned person who feels stuck in the in-between” on “a whole spectrum of not belonging,” where even “choosing to love [one’s] Brownness” becomes a “radical” act. Nuanced in its analysis (acknowledging, for instance, how someone in “a Brown body” can “perpetuate harmful systems of power”), this is a well-written book that effectively blends great storytelling with astute commentary.

A cogent memoir and commentary that challenges the American racial binary.