A Conversation with Lori L. Tharps, Author of Kinky Gazpacho

Q: Why did you shift away from the field of education into a career in journalism?
LLT: I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but I never considered “writer” a legitimate profession. It seemed like a nice hobby but not something you could tell your parents you wanted to pursue. Once I made the decision to pursue my passion of writing, I elected to go into journalism because journalists have jobs and “writers” just write!

Q: How did the experience of writing this memoir differ from your other nonfiction work as a journalist?
LLT: The hardest part about writing a memoir is that you are the main subject. I was used to dissecting other people’s personalities and researching obscure facts, but for Kinky Gazpacho the spotlight was on me. There were times I didn’t want to write about certain incidents because they were too embarrassing or painful, but the journalist in me knew they were essential parts of the story and had to be told.

Q: You describe a sense of not being “the right kind of Black girl” from your time as an undergraduate at Smith College. To what extent do you think young Black American women in college today share this concern?
LLT: Sadly, I think the same thing still happens when college kids of any ethnic group come to college. Students are forced to immediately align themselves with a group or else risk social stigmatization. College campuses are still great breeding grounds for group-think mentalities.

Q: Why did the discoveries you made in your research on the history of Black slaves in Spain affect you so profoundly?
LLT: I guess because it made me feel like I mattered in Spain. Discovering that my people had been there and left their mark on the culture meant that I really wasn’t a foreigner in Spain. My roots were there, and not even that far under the surface. So in some ways, now when I go to Spain and people point or stare or challenge my right to be there, I kind of feel empowered because I know I have a history there. Even if the Spaniards don’t know it, I do.

Q: In terms of racial progress, what do you think will be the international impact of the election of Barack Obama as the first Black president of the United States?
LLT: I think Obama, as well as Michelle and his daughters, will make the American people reconsider what it means to be Black. There is such a limited view in this country of the Black experience, held by both Black and White people, that up until now hasn’t been effectively challenged. The Cosby Show got the conversation started, but that could last only so long. (That’s a joke!) But seriously, I think Obama’s greatest impact will come from the fact that he is brilliant, not that he is Black.

Q: Where do you feel most at home—in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, or Salamanca, Spain—and why?
LLT: This is a really good question. I actually feel most at home in Brooklyn, New York, where I lived for twelve years after college. Part of the reason I feel most at home there is because it was my home for so long. But the other part is because Brooklyn satisfies my mind, my spirit, and my desire for a multicultural, multilingual, creative, urban community. And it’s really easy to get an international flight out of New York!

Q: To your knowledge, in the years since your time abroad, how has the Spanish perception of people of color changed?
LLT: To my great dismay, I don’t think it has changed much at all. In fact, with the current economic crisis and immigration woes, it might be getting worse. That being the case, I think it must get worse and then it will get better.

Q:Why do you think many Spanish people continue to be ignorant of the contributions made by Blacks who lived among them centuries ago?
LLT: That is such a good question and one I continue to raise every time I go back to Spain. I do know that there is a community of scholars both in and outside of the country who are working hard to remedy this fact and bring to light Spain’s impressive Black history.

Q:Have you and your husband raised your children bilingually? What is the extent of their attachment to Spain?
LLT: Absolutely. My husband speaks to our children only in Spanish. My kids don’t even know that their father speaks English! It’s kind of funny, actually, considering that he and I speak English together all the time. But besides the fact that we want our children to have the advantage of speaking two languages, speaking Spanish is what connects them to Spain. It allows them to seamlessly slip into the family unit when we go to Spain, where they have lots of cousins, aunties, and uncles. And most of those aunties and uncles don’t speak English at all.

Q:If you could have known one thing about Spain before you decided to live there, what would it be?
LLT: It would have helped tremendously to know that being Black would bring a lot of unwanted attention. I might have been better prepared and lowered my expectations. But then again, at that point in my life, if someone had mentioned that Spaniards are kind of racially insensitive, I might not have gotten on that airplane. And then where would I be? As difficult as the experience was, it still comes out a net positive. I learned so much about myself in Spain. I met my husband, and it was in Spain that I gave myself permission to be a writer because I discovered the meaning of true passion while I was there. Also, I am still in love with so many different parts of the culture, like the food and the music and the emphasis on family. So, all told, I’m glad I didn’t have anything but my fantasies to carry with me or else my life would look very different today. And I really, really like my life now.