On May the 2nd I turned my television on to images of police brigades firing foam and rubber bullets into a crowd of people of color. Men, women, children, and even reporters were shoved to the ground by batons and threatened with rifles. Everyone was the enemy. Perhaps this is Iraq, I thought at first glance, or images of a turbulent rebellion in South America or maybe even footage from a bygone era of activist and political suppression. It couldn’t be America. It couldn’t be today.I was wrong.It was dubbed the The Los Angeles May Day Mêlée and the **** was adminsisted by the LA police department on to a crowd of mostly Hispanics. These LAPD attacks reminisced the **** 1960’s beatings of black civil right activists. Yet, what was most disturbing about these attacks was the lack of empathy by Americans nationwide. At most the event became fleeting images on the news left to be ignored. African-Americans know all to well of mainstream society’s willful ignorance.Since the beginning of time unity between people has been the key to strength and growth. Unity among African-American and Hispanic will help both communities flourish and progress in a society that has continually tried to suppress them. Not only is it because I was taught to believe I was both African-American and Hispanic that I advocate the call for unity but because a harmonic interdependent relationship between the two peoples will serve as a symbol of what people of color can accomplish when they rise to help one another. African-American and Hispanics share the burden of being the two central groups in the U.S. with overrepresented in prisons and underrepresented in educational attainment. These disparities within our communities reflects the need for cooperative African-Americans and Hispanic leadership to address issues that affect both our cultures deeply. With more hands we can accomplish more things.In order to accomplish these feats African-Americans and Hispanics need to realize and embrace their similarities and differences. To look at the contemporary and past contributions African-Americans have had on Hispanic culture and how Hispanics have influenced African-American culture. Active political unions should also be created in college and higher education settings to promote awareness. These unions will allow younger generations of Hispanics and African-Americans to work together to tackle current issues from the quality of inner city education to immigration laws.It should also be noted that bi-lingual education for younger African-American and Hispanic students is important and beneficial. Studies have shown a second language effectiveness if learned when young it can prove helpful when older, especially when looking for a career in a competitive atmosphere. A second language also holds social advantages and enhances understanding between people as we expand our capacity to communicate with one another.The role of the HBCU is critical in this endeavor to unify the two communities. HBCU’s historically were created to serve the needs of minorities who could not attain a proper education elsewhere, this included Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans and Jews. HBCU’s have the ability to be the to act as this stronghold by incorporating aspects of Hispanic culture in the curriculum. HBCU’s also have the duty to educate Americans about different cultures, information that is lacking in a majority of predominantly white schools. Information about different cultures is essential to understanding humanity and ultimately ourselves as individuals.African-Americans understand the struggle in America for the pursuit of happiness and are aware that the American Dream is easier for some to acquire than others. Blacks in America should apply this understanding to help our Hispanic brothers and sisters as they now face more and more difficulties and prejudice in U.S. Both Hispanics and African-Americans have many more battles ahead to achieve full equality and opportunities yet this struggle will be greatly lessened if we work together.
