A black African and black American can have tension if they act is if being on different continents constitutes huge differences in the "type of black" that they are rather than seeing themselves as part of the African diaspora. And if this is fueled by ignorance of black African and black American experiences and culture, it can be intrusive.
I assume you are a "white Latino" (in layperson's terms
) so it makes sense that this would translate into "racial" differences (rather that just cultural and ethnic) in your family's eyes. In this country and in Latin American countries, there is a great social divide between groups of people based on the color of their skin, features, and hair texture. So things like attractiveness and social status (i.e. the white privilege that people of European background receive all over the world) will be based on that. If you date someone of the African diaspora, familiarity with each other's "culture" would have to include acknowledging and discussing this without being too consumed with it.