Despite the number of editorialists who have decried the “Death of Racism,” the marginalization and exclusion of minority groups continues to occur. The pernicious quality of contemporary racism becomes harder to deny as minority groups become majority populations. The most recent census revealed that in the nation’s five largest cities, Hispanics and African Americans constituted the majority population. Whites often think that black-brown relations are hostile, at best, adversarial at worst. These images play out on primetime law dramas and daytime reality shows (COPS, Survivor). But if one leaves the safety of television’s virtual integration and visit heavily-minority communities, they will realize that between the two groups, there is commonality, there is unity, and there is love. Common group unity between Hispanics and African-Americans is not as salient as individual group unity, because in capitalist society, the underclass (which is composed almost primarily of Hispanics, African-Americans, and other minority groups) competes against itself for jobs and opportunities. Common community attachments, shared social class status, intermarriage, and shared minority group experiences link the interests of African-Americans and Hispanics to their willingness to cooperate to work to address common group issues, whether they be political, cultural, social, or economic. By building black-brown political coalitions as an extension of the black-brown unity that manifests itself in cooperative neighbor, friend, and co-worker relationships, the real issues which face minority-majority communities (such as the lack of adequate and affordable housing, funding for educational and occupational resources, and health care). African-Americans and Hispanics are marginalized in almost every aspect of their lives—politically, economically, socially. Faced with adversity, the tendency of both groups has been to isolate the group from other minority groups and lessening any political or economic power wielded by the group. Ethnic politics has for too long served the interests of whites, by dividing Hispanics and African-Americans even further. Political attachments can no longer be decided simply along racial lines. When there is a problem in a multi-ethnic minority community, it is rarely a direct byproduct of racism, although this may appear to be the case. More often than not, there is an underlying political, economic, or social cause, which, although affected by the filter provided by race, is not caused by it. For example, a young man’s decision to graffiti a racial slur on the wall of a local Mexican bakery is more demonstrative of his need to elevate his status amongst his peers because he lacks real economic and political power (and therefore status power is the only type he possesses), than of his racism. Similarly, the **** between black and brown gangs is the result of racial tension induced by extremely limited economic and educational opportunities and resources. Race relations are no longer an issue of black-or-white, and increasingly, especially in majority-minority communities, it is becoming a black-brown issue. A majority-minority community is like a box of crayons, where because of antagonistic social, economic, and political forces, each color is fighting to keep the other colors down. In such a context, it is impossible to develop a common group consciousness, because each color sees the interests of the other colors as detrimental to its own. To borrow from DuBois, African-Americans and Hispanics must work together to demystify their common group unity, to bring about the “dawning [of] self-consciousness, self-realization, [and] self-respect” (The Souls of Black Folk) that is the key to equality. By understanding what it means to be black, what it means to be brown, and what it means to be a minority, African-Americans and Hispanics able to generate solutions to the problems they face together, as individuals and as minority groups, instead of relying on the bully pulpit of ethnic politics. The role of academia in these efforts should not be understated, but the work of educators cannot be limited to the classroom, nor even to the hallowed halls of the academy. The development of a common group consciousness (all the while maintaining unique individual minority group attachments) requires a large-scale campaign to educate both African-Americans and Hispanics of their basic political rights and of the issues that face both groups. Change does not occur in idealized societal vacuums, but is rather the result of the recognition of common needs through education (development of self-awareness and self-consciousness) and the subsequent development of collective efforts to address those needs. Although education is an individual process, the benefits are felt by the entire community. Professors, especially from historically black colleges and universities, should offer free, open-to-the-public lectures at YMCAs, churches, and other community organizations, on political science, government, economics, and sociology. By holding college-level educational lectures and seminars to majority-minority community members who lack the ability (financial, temporal, or otherwise) to attend college, minority-majority communities are providing an invaluable local resource. HBCU and its Hispanic counterparts must serve as an educational bridge between faculty, students, and parents in both communities. In addition to serving as a gateway to resources for minority students, HBCU must also continue to serve an educational function. The potential of HBCU and its affiliates to reach a receptive audience will be unmatched if it continues expand its primary-service demographic to include Hispanics. Including Hispanics in outreach and recruitment initiatives for historically black colleges provides an opportunity for increased participation by Hispanics in those institutions. Efforts to increase Hispanic enrollment in historically black colleges are an extension of efforts to increase the enrollment of African-Americans from economically-disadvantaged backgrounds. The natural amalgamation that occurs within a college environment will naturally result in greater understanding and awareness of commonalities between the two groups. The profound tectonic shifts in America’s cultural, social, and economic landscape will take place far removed from the centers of power and government; taking place instead where African-Americans and Hispanics look beyond socially-constructed racial differences and to the common goal of a constant improvement in their communities and their way of life.