
On Latin@ and Black Conflict (and Unity)
Red and Black Column by A. P.
June 25th, 2009
Today I was shocked when I heard a high school teacher tell a student that the Katrina survivors “blew off” (spent) their federal assistance, and now they came to California and other states to steal, rape and kill. Her comment came out of frustration about last years murder of a Latino by a group of African Americans from New Orleans. Still, I could not believe that an educated Latina would talk like this, especially to a student. I am aware of the racial/ethnic tensions between blacks and Latin@s, but I also know that there is a good number of blacks and Latinos that seek mutual understanding and coalition. This highlights the need for Ethnic Studies classes, especially comparative Ethnic Studies classes that teach students about the common struggles of people of color in the US, as well as teach about those key moments in history where different ethno-racial groups have joined together to fight for a common cause.
While Chican@ Studies, and Black Studies are greatly necessary to instill a sense of dignity and critical outlook, but without a comparative approach, they will not seek to work with other people of color. California demographics are constantly changing; a place that migh have been predominantly African American or Latino, might now be a lot more diverse. I think this is true of places like Richmond, Oakland, and San Jose. African Americans, Asian American, Native Americans, and Latin@s are coming in contact with one another at increasing rate and in a variety of ways.
If we just spend a moment thinking about the problems that working class people and people of color face, we will see that we have plenty of things in common. Let me suggest a few:
History of Common Struggle: The common saying that “knowledge is power” is true. If we consider that through out five hundred plus years of colonization, people of color and working class whites have come together to defend human life, dignity and liberty, we will see that only through coalitions can we achieve greater equality. For example, it took a coalition of Filipino, Mexicans, and whites for the UFW to gain the right to unions. It was actually the Filipinos who first went on strike, the Mexican American/Chican@ workers joined them later. It was also thanks to white folks who boycotted grapes and picketed outside stores that made the whole campaign succeed. Ethnic Studies departments came out of a student and community activist coalition that included Blacks, Asians, Chican@s, and Native Americans, as well as radical whites.
Housing: Housing is a human right, not a privilege. At the highest level of national security, should be the meeting of the basic needs of the population, and that means housing. Not “affordable housing,” but acessible housing for everyone, even those who cannot afford it. Instead of the goverment bailing out the banks, Obama and the rest should have bailed out working families who are struggling to stay in their homes, at the very least, a foreclosure-freeze. Furthermore, people of color and working class whites need to come together in direct action to opposse all evictions.
War and Military: Obama was never anti-war, he was just for the long and painful pulling out of Iraq. He’s war is in Afghanistan and Pakistan. With economic depression, high unemployment, increasing cost of food and other necessities, as well as the increasing of educational fees for public educaction (why are we still calling it public, when the public cannot attend, but do pay for it?), young people are being forced to join the military. Latino and Black families are constantly bombarded with military recruitment adds, harassment by recruiters, and the glorification of war through movies and video games. This is class warfare, pure and simple. Poor people, especially poor people of color, seem to be expendable to the rich. We should ask Obama, and the rest of Congress, if they are willing to send their sons and daughters to war. The answer is obvious, they will not go. Communities accross the United States should join together to kick the recruiters out of our schools. This is to start, we should also demand realistic representations of military life and war in their adds.
Police and ICE Harassment/brutality: How many young men of color have been killed this year by the police? How many families have been split by ICE, who like the police, invade our communities looking for the most vulnerable? The police, the military, and the pinche migra exist to protect the interest of the rich. This is not to say that we do not need community security, but the police do not serve us. How many police departments are truly run by the community? The United States, and the rest of the G8, IMF, World Bank, and transnational corporations create the conditions for poverty and forced migration. Migrants from Mexico and Central America (and other impoviresh parts of the world) are economic refugees. These same economic powers are the ones causing urban unemployment, low wages, etc. We need to take back our communities. I am not talking about narrow nationalism, community control and autonomy is for all members of the community, regardless of race/ethnicity.
Health Care: Common knowledge today seems to be: “Don’t get sick without health insurance,” or “don’t get sick, PERIOD.” This country’s health care system seems to be beyond reform, it needs radical change. Our most basic necessities, such as housing, food, and health care should not be driven by profit. This economic system, capitalism, needs low-wage exploitable workers to exist. Without cheap labor, the rich cannot draw the massive profits they need to keep the economy going. One of the most radical moves we can do, is take back our health care system. Localize it. Honestly, either we have a national health care system like they do in Cuba, Canada or France, or we stop paying taxes. I would rather have all my taxes stay at the California State and local level. Really, why do we need the federal government?
Education:The best cure against injustice, is education. If people have a strong sense of dignity, as well as a critical understanding of history and society, we can change the world. The UC system just raised tuition by almost 10%, again! If we compare the cost of attending UC in 1998 (the year I started my undergraduate education) to how much it will cost in 2010, we will see that it has more than doubled! Once again, this system is not working for us. Blacks, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, Latin@s, we are all being squeezed out of higher education, at the same time that the K-12 public education gets strip to the bones. Sorry for repeating myself, this is a clear war against the poor.
To go back to the beginning of this column, I was shocked to hear a Latina teacher speak is such a racist way against black Katrina survivors. Her comments came after a group of African American men beat to death a young Latino (they were trying to rob him). Rather than continue to equate blackness with crime, we need to speak about the conditions that create violence among all people of color. It seems to come down to poverty, a history of violence against people of color that works to desesitize them (in some), the lack of education, and the government’s abandonment of the poor.
I once read in a wall that “crime is a product of the system.” The small size graffiti (in the form of a self-made sticker) was at a UC Berkeley wall in the department of Ethnic Studies. I was glad someone put the piece up, it seems that our students are learning something.
Pass it on.
…..
This has been my first Red and Black Column. Hopefully I will continue these every month. Peace.
Agustín Palacios is an Ethnic Studies doctoral candidate at UC Berkeley. He is a poet and family man.
Recent Comments