Big Papi takes on the Big Apple

It depends how black they are.

Dominicans could be darker than Robert Mugabe or lighter than (I presume) you. Or anywhere in between (and sometimes all in the same family). Most people there are somewhere in the middle; a variety of terms are used to describe the gradations of skin color on a continuum. Roughly in order from light to dark, you may hear blanco, rubio, jabao, trigueño, indio claro, indio oscuro, café con leche, canela, mulato, moreno, grifo, prieto. (This is not a complete list, and hair is also part of the distinction). There used to be twelve gradations recognized by the national identity card.

The funny thing about it is that you can tell someone is black from a distance (say, a moving taxi), but you can't tell they are Dominican. Also, somebody who is not considered black in their country of origin might be considered black here; a lot of people have said "I didn't know I was black until I came to the United States."

David Ortiz, on the other hand, would be considered black (moreno, grifo, or prieto) even in the DR, and would probably be the target of discrimination there because of his color if he weren't rich and famous.