Building on past scholarship on the processes of racialization of Latinos, this dissertation addresses the role of both internal and external factors in influencing racial classification and the implications of race on the mental health outcomes of Latinos of Afro-Latin American origin. Latinos of this population have unique experiences with racial/ethnic boundaries and racialization, as many do not fit the dominant image of latinidad across the United States. This dissertation asks the following questions: How does the social context of metropolitan areas impact racial self-classification practices of Latinos? How do physical and external factors – such as skin tone, race of partners and observers – impact how Latinos are racially ascribed or self-classify? What are the mental health implications of the lived experience of race for Latinos? I draw upon the 5-year 2012-2016 American Community Survey (ACS) data and Waves 3 and 4 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) data to address these questions.