As a young Dominican girl, when I first moved from New York to North Carolina, I was in for a shock. The first one from the idea that in 1987 many North Carolinians felt that there were only 2 types of people - Black and White. The second shock came from the idea that if you were Latino, the you should not have made it as far into the "city" as I had. As I tried to settle myself into this strange new place, it was African American classmates that truly extended genuine friendship and began the process of me being able to call the South home.
When the most recent US Census announced that Latinos would be the largest minority, I cringed at how the marketing of this revelation was constructed to create competition between two groups of people that were very much alike and are the key to improving eachother's quality of life. As intended by various media and government forces, many Latino and African American groups have bought into the idea of a zero sum mentality. Thus, the tension for "limited" resources heightened and distrust between the communities grew.
It is important for Black and Latino communities to work together because Latinos are the illegitimate children of the trans-Atlantic **** trade. No other group of people have as much to offer African Americans as Latinos do. They are the next of kin. Latinos are the rewarding result of souls that survived struggle. The Census headlines do more then try to pit African Americans and Latinos against eachother. Another look shows us the paranoia of the rapid growth of the Latino population. This is God's gift to the African American community.
African Americans have had a long history of fighting unprecedented discrimination. As the anthem says, "the faith that the dark past has taught us". That dark past has many lessons that Latinos can stand to learn from in this country. The institutional memory is invaluable to making sure that not another group goes through the same horrors of the African American community again. Bringing Latinos to the table and including them on political agendas can also increase the strength of those initiatives. In their home countries, many Latinos were proud to be politically active even in the face of persecution, arrest or death. I have many stories of family that has disappeared for their political views. That dedication woud be an invaluable asset as African Americans and Latinos merge together for an improved common future.
Such partnerships are more likely to happen when African Americans realize that Latinos are the new second class citizens meant to replace them. They should also know that Latino is not a race. In fact, many Black people are also Latino. Latino is a culture that has never been limited to any race. There are Black, Asian, American Indian and White Latinos. The beauty of this is that regardless of race, they mainly identify as Latino.
Another philosophy to destroy in order to foster relationships between Black and Latino people is the zero sum mentality. This mentality is not part of either of these cultures. What is more common in our cultures when it comes to resources is the belief that more opportunity or needed resources can always be created and that these things are provided abundantly by God. Most U.S. culture has led us to compete because of the belief in scarcity. It would be more helpful if both groups thought of the American Pie as something they could cook up more of and in different flavors if they like. This paradigm eliminates the need to compete and promotes more open cooperation. It is interesting that by following philosophies closer to our original cultures, we can solve many of our conflicts and tensions.
In NC, the NAACP and El Pueblo have started intensely working together on agendas that affect both communities. The results are hard to miss as they consistently turn out thousands to lobby days at the NC General Assembly.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities have played a unique role of fostering the talent of deserving and talented students when other institutions would not. They validated Black students by showing many them they should be proud of everything they were. I propose that now HBCU's have that same role to play with Latino students. In our state, a debate rages about whether or not undocumented Latino students should be allowed to attend a public university. That same student has been in the U.S. for most of their life, has parents that paid taxes, and did well in school. Can you draw any parallels?
I am not just suggesting that we add Latinos to our team as fight for political gains. I believe that HBCU's can help make those new team members as educated and skilled for the common fight ahead. HBCU's can be the nurturing educational home base that they have already been for so many African Americans. In fact, considering the unique reasons for which they were created, it would go against their mission to not step to the forefront and welcome Latino students. Just as integration of public schools has helped ease misunderstandings between groups of people that were generally isolated, I believe that more Latinos on HBCU campuses can crumble the divides that may exist.
Besides, African Americans and Latinos have been mixing it up before Diddy and J Lo. In fact, even before their collaboration to create hip hop, they were making revolution music in the Carribean islands that eventually led to the toppling of dictators. Powerful stuff if you ask me! For the sake of keeping each group at the mercy of the mainstream, it is vital that we forget that we share a lot in history and in culture. How beneficial it could be to both of our communities if we remembered that Ray Charles and Celia Cruz were both discriminated against in similar fashions?
The question of how Latinos and African Americans can be more unified is always intriguing to me because whenever I look in the mirror they seem in perfect harmony. Whenever I eat, they taste in perfect harmony. Whenever I listen to merengue, bachata, salsa and reggaeton, they sound in perfect harmony.
