African-American and Hispanic Unity: Toward a new fraternity sentiment.In the last population census in the United States, showed that the two largest minorities in the Country are African-Americans and Latinos. Both population had suffer from constant discrimination and civil and economics inequalities. Many had fought to diminish the gap between these minorities and the rest of the population. As an example, we can find the affirmative action rule that tries to increase the numbers of underrepresented populations in college. Because of my origins I am considered Hispanic. However the fact is that, as many Puerto Ricans, I am product of interracial marriages. My maternal grandparents were descendents from slaves in Puerto Rico. Consequently I cannot distinguish my self from African Americans. Of course I speak Spanish, but my family past had suffered from the horrors of slavery and the systematic discrimination. Discrimination in the realm of law, education, in fact in the entire social instance, has been the daily life for generations of my family in the Island. Therefore, as Hispanic it is impossible and immoral to view the struggle for equality of African-American as an alien problem to our ethnicity. Arthur A. Schomburg is an example of the efforts to diminish the differences between Hispanics and African Americans. Born in Puerto in 1874, his father was descendant of Germans and his mother of St. Croix, was descendant of African slaves. His early political movements were driven by the liberation of Cuba and Puerto from the Spanish rule and the liberty of slaves in Spanish possessions. Furthermore, he became very prominent in Black New York's politics in the early years of the twentieth. One of his mayor contributions was a wide research-and its dissemination-on the achievements of men and women of color everywhere, not least in the insufficiently examined Spanish-speaking world. This led to the creation of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Schomburg should be the model to follow for many Hispanics and African-Americans. We, all together should celebrate our heritage and exalt our similarities instead of our differences. Our call is to fight against discrimination in treatments and opportunities. A gain in this fight is a success for not only the African-Americans or the Hispanics, indeed is a gain for all the minorities in this Country. This fight is equally important for all American citizens. Filling the gap of educational opportunities has the inevitable consequence of improving the economics of this country, but also to honor its creed of “all men were born equal.” The problem will not be resolved by creating Black colleges or Hispanic colleges. The problem will only be addressed by creating a truly sentiment of universalism and fraternity represented in the education realm. Both groups should work together, understand the history of each one, and overall share the fruits of their efforts.
