On a television show titled The L Word, a character describes a peculiar characteristic of lobsters. The character claimed that in a pot of boiling water a particular group of lobsters would form ladders using their claws to try to escape, while another group would intentionally pull each other down causing them to all die together. While there may or may not be any truth to this statement, the situation described is a good example of what can happen to minority groups, such as the African Americans and Hispanics, when they decide not to work together. If African Americans and Hispanics in the United States did not work together to address political, cultural, communication, and community issues, they would only be hurting each other’s progress. Absence of help from one group to another is harmful because they are restricting each other from potential assistance. As minorities, both groups presently exist in a nation that isolates them from the majority. While most of the population may find it difficult to relate to the situations minorities are normally in, within these two groups there are a vast amount of similarities. However, if these two groups do not work together to address these issues they will not only be isolated from the majority of the population, but they will also become isolated from one another. Like two people stranded on a deserted island, these two groups face the same dilemmas, and doing anything but working together could lead to disaster. African Americans and Hispanics should work together because they have both faced similar problems in many areas. While we now have political representatives that are both African American and Hispanics, this outcome was not without struggle. Though we may have leaders in politics and in the community that can empower our communities, we have yet to tap into the true strength and pull of both minority groups. If it is possible for these two groups to better their situations through great struggle, imagine the possibilities of them working together as one entity. If a greater bond were to be formed between these two groups, other areas of worries could be addressed. Creating closer ties between these two communities would allow for an increase in communication. This would also allow the communities to discover just how much in common they have with one another. While other communities that do not face similar problems may sometimes sympathize with these two groups, the Hispanics and African Americans are more likely to empathize with one another. By allowing either group to gain a clearer understanding of the situation, they will be able to see that other members of this nation are in the same boat, and will realize that working together is the only answer. Because similar problems plague both communities, they will both be just as eager to combat these evils and both working and communicating together will be the starting point of addressing these issues. In order to strengthen the relationship between African Americans and Hispanics, the first step, as previously mentioned, would be to increase communication within the two groups. While this can be done many different ways it remains the root to strengthening this alliance. More specifically, the people who are seen as leaders of the Hispanic and African Americans should increase the communication with one another. The leaders who are actively involved should then come together in order to address similar issues publicly. Weather it be addressing discrimination issues, gangs in the community, or education, having both groups address these issues that they share or can relate to, can increase awareness and action. Along with this, these two groups should try to create more situations that allow for more interaction between the two communities, such as fund raisers, community clean ups and services such as after school programs. Involvement in each others communities could easily strengthen the current ties between the two groups. HBCU should continue to support the needs of African American students and the growing Hispanic population in the United States by providing more information on education and educational resources through networks and similar outlets. The reason for this is because although there is help and information out there for these two populations, the information is difficult to come by. Non-minorities find it easier to gather information on education, internships, and financial aid, because more than likely they have affiliations with someone who has gone through the same situations. Unlike this group, minorities, such as African Americans and Hispanics, do not always have ties to someone who can direct them to the path that will lead them to better jobs, education, experience, or financial help. Many African American and Hispanic students are unaware that there are programs, scholarships, internships, etc., out there for them. Without the help of organizations as HBCU, these students would be lacking the resources which make it possible for them to peruse their education and careers. As minorities, both groups have already experienced isolation from the population. Being under represented, it is anticipated that they will lack acknowledgement from the rest of society, however this is no reason for these two groups to lack acknowledgement for one another. Members of each group are constantly striving to educate and better the conditions of their own group, and during the process may not realize that there are other groups out there facing the same tribulations. African Americans and Hispanics should work together as minorities in order to battle adversities of the communities and address political issues more efficiently. The problem is that theses two groups tend to face these dilemmas on their own. While the groups can obtain sympathy from outside groups and individuals, they are fully capable of gaining empathy from groups or individuals who have already experienced comparable problems and issues. If either group can empathize with one another, they are more likely to help out to their full potential. We should all be working together to benefit the Hispanic and African Americans students and communities. However, it is even more important for these two groups to help and positively engage one another because of their similarities in struggle and because of the positive examples they can be for each other. Because both groups are no strangers to adversities, their experiences can be used as teachings and the groups can learn from each other’s history. Increasing the communication between leaders and communities can easily allow for better organization amongst both groups. With better networking and communication one can anticipate a growth in resources and readily available information. By creating a stronger unity and changing from a parallel attack method to a combined method, we will be able to create more damage. While these two groups are not purposely pulling each other down like the lobsters in the pot, they are neither working together to create a ladder to escape its dilemmas. Without an increase of communication between these two groups and without the help of organizations such as HBCU, progress will be minimal and this is why it is important for the Hispanic and African American community to work together to address these issues and for organizations such as HBCU to continue its prideful work.
