This article comes to my mind reading hearing that a 14 year old black boy was shot by Latino gangs in the streets of Los Angles while chatting with his friends on January 17, 2007.
Latinos are the fastest growing ethnic group and in future the largest minority group in US overshadowing the Blacks who one day had the same situation as Latinos have today. From the days of Civil Right Movements in 1960s with the slogan of "Black and Brown together, forever?" there is always this question that whether this coalition helps American democracy or how does it work. There are two main controversies regarding Black- Latino coalition; some who believe that they have a lot in common and the other group saying that there are lots of barriers to their coalition. The discussion today deals with the commonalities and differences and the solution for this very important controversy in United States.
One of the people who greatly emphasized on the Black- Latino coalition was Jesse Jackson, once running for Presidency. He used the term rainbow for coalition of different ethnic and racial groups in US. These people talk of the relationship between Martin Luther King and Caesar Chavez. African Americans and Latinos share a lot and they can revive their long shared interests to gain their rights from the dominant group in United States. The issue that these two ethnic groups can fight in one front is affirmative action, immigration reform, voting Right Acts and bilateral trade. They cooperating can gain advantage in asking for more representatives in House and Senate. Blacks have fought long to have the voting right but there are unfinished movements that need Latinos and blacks pushing it forward like the health care, education and welfare system.
One the other hand, we have the idea of Black- Latino differences. According to Ken Cooper the most important obstacle in this way is that most Latinos in United States do not assume themselves as brown, they identify themselves as White according to Census data and also some of them do not like to be labeled as Hispanic or Latino. So they can not form a united political force as Blacks used to do and ask for their rights rather than alliance with Blacks. It is also important to mention that a large number of Latinos are immigrants, legal or illegal, who do not have the right to vote and it reduces their political power unless a new policy change the situation in favor of Latinos. Another obstacle that is not very tangible is the hatred and tension naturally existing among individual members of minority groups which may mostly be a reason that Blacks see Latinos as a threat to their low paid job as illegal immigrants are ready for any kind of job by very low wages so they occupy the Black opportunities. Both group have reasons of their own not be feel allied with other; Blacks see Latinos growing rapidly, becoming the most important minority groups once owned by blacks and asking for social rights and Latinos dissent Blacks as some of their political leaders did not help Latinos in Immigration policies and bilingual education. Moreover, the dominant debate of White- Black marginalized Latinos from the social debate of United States in the recent decades.
It is necessary to add that there are several attempts by Black and Latino leaders to bring these two groups together but it needs a hard work to be achieved. There should be workshops and conferences regarding this matter. Blacks should be taught Spanish and Latinos English. Children of both groups as Jackson proposed should be taught to avoid violence and gang warfare. Cultural exchange programs and religious programs can also help this coalition build easier.
References:
- http://www.nytimes.com
- http://www.newsweek.com
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