It is extremely important for African Americans and Hispanic Americans to build a strong relationship as people of color. Black people and Hispanics have experienced oppression economically and socially; yet, similarly we are people with a rich heritage and sense of community. We as people of color can learn from each other. If Blacks and Hispanics were to work together we could see positive change in our communities and in this nation dominated by Eurocentric values. The voting bloc consisting of Blacks and Hispanics will be stronger. There is a great amount of Hispanics immigrating to the United States, which will be a determining factor for satisfaction with political leaders. If our black leaders, such as National Association for the Advancement for Colored People (NAACP), and the Hispanic leaders, League of United Latin American Citizens(LULAC), sit together and decide what we agree and disagree on, there will be hope in actually getting the political representation that both parties have been demanding. We both have been fighting for some of the same reasons: better healthcare and life insurance policies, discrimination, poor community resources, and the rigged educational system. Another benefit from a relationship between Blacks and Hispanics is the increase in job opportunities. Building and investing in businesses within our communities can provide more job openings (janitorial to clerical) for our Hispanic and Black brothers and sisters. The end result of this plan is an increase of positive images of people of color for our youth and a stronger sense of being as a person of color. There will be a decrease in Eurocentric mainstream and an increase in authentic cultural images. In most cases, Blacks and Hispanics live in the same urban communities. No external source can be implemented to strengthen the relationship between Blacks and Hispanics, it has to come from within the communities. Therefore, a step in building a lasting relationship with each other is to refrain from fighting for the same limited resources and to put aside our differences to learn from one another. Instead of fighting over the little resources we are provided, we need to come to commit to making our own resources! We are extraordinary people who have built structures with only sand and rock and lived as scholars!The younger generation has to verbalize the awareness of the importance of Blacks and Hispanics joining forces. The youth act as a liaison for the elders in the community. Youth groups gearing towards cultural unity and awareness are necessary; but, they have to be the community’s responsibility because the United States government will not do it. This socio-economic struggle is not an everyman for himself game. We can learn financial independency from the Hispanics, they are known for superb money management skills; and Blacks have an excellent networking agency.A contributing factor is the growing outreach of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. As a witness to the growing HBCU curriculum containing Hispanic history, literary and language courses, there is a welcoming spirit towards Hispanics at HBCUs. Black students are being educated about the plethora of latin cultures and ideologies. HBCUs need to initiate more recruitment for Hispanics. These schools will provide a positive, culturally comfortable, multicultural learning environment for students of color. Once the community is united, it will be a lot easier for HBCUs to collaborate with major Hispanic outlets, such as, Latina Magizine, Univision television network and LULAC. I conclude that Black and Hispanic Americans will reap beautifully, if we take the steps necessary in building a strong relationship with one another.
