The Latino demographic is a complex and diverse group that has different ways of defining their identity, whether it's by country of origin, indigenous roots or racial background. A new study from Pew Research revealed how most of the Afro-Latinos living in the United States identify themselves with a good chunk of them reporting their racial identification as either white or Hispanic.

According to the findings of the recent research, 39 percent of the Afro-Latino participants identified themselves as purely white or white in combination with another race. Meanwhile, 24 percent said that their race was or combined with Hispanic. An even lower 18 percent identified themselves as black and only 9 percent identified themselves as mixed race.

The nationally representative study marked the first time that Latinos in the United States were asked about their consideration of themselves as Afro-Latino. It was found that Latinos with roots in the Caribbean are 34 percent more likely to identify themselves as Afro-Latino or Afro-Caribbean than the 22 percent who point their roots from elsewhere.

A total of 65 percent of the ones who identify as Afro-Latino live in the East Coast or the South and about 70 percent are foreign born, which is significantly more than the 52 percent of other Latino groups. However, they are also less likely to be college educated and more likely to have low family incomes. In 2013, about 60 percent of Afro-Latinos have family incomes below $30,000.

Truly, the Latinos have a very complex and wide span of identification or race. Two-thirds or 67 percent of all Latinos distinguish Hispanic as a part of their racial background, although the U.S. Census Bureau describes the term "Hispanic" as an ethnic origin and not a race.

During the Black History Month in February, Afro-Latinas and masters degree students from Columbia University Leah Hairston and Aymee Molina shared their heritage as Afro-Latinas in a report from NBC News.

"As an Afro-Latina I get to claim, not only from my African American side, but from my Afro-Latina side because all of my people came, in one way or another, from the continent of Africa," Hairston explained. "Our blackness is often demeaned in [Latino] culture. You don't really want to have black roots or you don't want to embrace what it means to be 'African-anything' because the history of systemic oppression."

She added, "Oppressed people should come together to recognize beauty and excellence in all part of their heritage. Afro-Latinos are not a bridge between African Americans and Latinos, but they're equally important and should be celebrated as such."