Latinos Must Reach Out To Blacks

Latinos Must Reach Out To Blacks
by Rodolpho Carrasco
in Pasadena Star News, Saturday June 1 1997
(Rodolpho Carrasco is associate director of Harambee Christian Family Center in Pasadena, Calif. and a columnist for the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group. Check out more articles by Rodolpho Carrasco here.)

(PASADENA) - A few African-American children in my neighborhood are convinced: A dog on our street is trained by its Latino owners to attack Black people.

That's not true, I tell the children, as we walk toward the dog in question to retrieve a ball. The dog trots alongside us, brushing against my calf, then walks away.

Once, I tell the kids, as I played soccer against the boy who lives at that house, I accidentally kicked him. The dog immediately leapt forward to bite me, a Mexican-American. The dog is trained to protect, not attack by race, I say.

One boy in the group raises a skeptical eye. "If you're not here, the dog will bite me," he replies.

The urban legend-like aspects of this story would be humorous if not for data which gives credence to this boy's suspicions.

In a recent report on hate crimes, officials of the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations raise alarm over the number of racially motivated hate crimes by whites and Latinos against blacks. Of 539 racially motivated hate crimes, blacks were the target 295 times, 111 times at the hand of whites, 99 times at the hands of Latinos.

Even worse is news this month of two vicious crimes by Latinos against African-Americans. In Carson, eight Latino gang members killed a 32-year-old black man by pummeling him with baseball bats. At the same time, near the same area, a black family was harassed by Latino gang members. After their car was set afire and their house spray-painted with racial slurs and gang monikers, the family moved.

The commission's hate crimes report and these recent incidents make the suspicion of Latinos by African-Americans understandable. I believe it is vital that Latino leaders speak out right now against these hate crimes. Latino politicians, clergy, educators and businesspeople must be heard unequivocably in the public square denouncing Latino-generated hate activities against African-Americans.

Yet the times also call for something more. Latinos must make greater efforts to reach out to African-Americans.

As you read this a demographic prophecy is being fulfilled. With Latinos in powerful positions like state assembly speaker (Cruz Bustamante, D-Fresno) and superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District (Ruben Zacarias), and with a Pepperdine University report documenting the vastness and impressive advancements of the Latino middle class, the long-expected Latino power in California has emerged.

In neighborhoods like mine in Northwest Pasadena, the spectre of Latinos in power leaves many African Americans with an uneasy feeling. Immigration, both legal and illegal, has created increased competition for jobs. African Americans have watched the number of cities in Los Angeles with Black majorities dwindle from 44 in 1970 to two (Inglewood and Compton) in 1990. In these cities, political and civil service representation has followed the population shift, with Latinos assuming seats in city councils and school boards previously held by African Americans. And in Northwest Pasadena in particular, landlords are known to prefer Latino renters over African Americans.

In response to these tensions, visible sectors of the African American community in Pasadena are not lashing out against Latinos, but reaching out. From Pasadena City Hall to church coalitions to the corner market, many African Americans I know profess a desire to know their Latino neighbors, to see more African Americans playing soccer, and to learn some Spanish. Even the 90-year-old retired minister across the street greets me in the morning with, "Buenos Dias!"

They are reaching out, but African Americans want Latinos to reach back. And reaching back goes a long way to alleviating suspicions blacks have about Latino-generated hate crimes and intimations of power.

An African American friend of mine doesn't believe Latinos train dogs to hate blacks. He does have concerns, however, about the desire of Latino men to have a relationship with him. In private, he says, he feels received and respected nearly every Latino he encounters. But in public settings, he is disturbed by that stand-offishness and lack of acknowledgement he receives. He thinks most Latinos do not want to be seen in his company.

Certainly many Latinos are reaching out to African Americans. I myself have been so close to African American-focused projects and initiatives that many wonder where my true loyalties lie. Good. Because my true loyalties lie within a faith that instructs me that God's heart goes out to all people, regardless of race. I have a special concern for Latinos because I am one, but my maker has a special concern for all people, and I submit to that concern first.

We need more Latinos to reach out to African Americans. The suspicions of Latinos by African Americans must be addressed by Latinos for Pasadena to be a city at peace. Pro-active peacemaking doesn't have to be a production or need to involve a committee. Initiate a conversation or a greeting with an African American. Openly express hope for the well-being of the African American community. Learn the history of the black community in Pasadena. Share a plate with your next door neighbor at your next barbeque.

Whatever your actions, take them seriously. Remember the hate crimes, and fight the spirit behind them. Think of how insidious it is that African American children fear that Latinos train dogs to attack them because of their race.

The copyright for these materials are owned by Rudy Carrasco.  These materials were used with permission by TechMission