According to a report from BET.com, Rosie Perez explained her position on the association between Black and Latin-American communities in the United States, following Fat Joe’s recent comments; the drama on Basketball Wives, in addition to Gina Rodriguez’s performance in which she said the “N-word.”

Speaking with reporters from Essence last Saturday, in the midst of her acceptance of the Hispanicize’s Latinavator Award at the InterContintental in LA, the longtime actress explained why she thinks that Afro-Latinos have to identify as a different ethnicity.

Perez said to reporters that she thought the separation by skin color within the Latin community was a very “dangerous” thing, adding that people with a much darker complexion should refer to themselves as “Afro-Latinos.”

Rosie claimed that the Latinos out there who aren’t that dark-skinned don’t really refer to themselves as “White Latinos,” moreover, she added it’s important for the Latin community to unify together. Furthermore, speaking on the generational change, the actress explained that the young people of today are identifying themselves much differently.

Perez explained that one of the most amazing things about the next generation of youth is their lack of concern for labels, especially regarding ethnicities. Moreover, Rosie continued the interview by referring to a study done at the University of Southern California.

According to Rosie, one of the issues in the entertainment industry today is the fact that around 3% of Latinos in Hollywood get the leading role, with the exception of Zoe Saldana. Perez claimed it was an “important misstep on their part,” but the real question was “why?”

The actress claimed it was an “omission that spoke volume,” before going on to add that “they” don’t include Latin-American groups as part of the conversation. However, Perez urged for the Afro-Latin community to look inside themselves rather than point fingers at others.

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Fans of Rosie Perez remember when she first came to prominence in Spike Lee’s film, Do The Right Thing, followed by White Men Can’t Jump in 1992, starring Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson.