Are there Racial Tensions between African-Americans and Hispanics: Fact or Fiction?

By Ricardo Hernandez.
California States University Northridge Student

Are there Racial Tensions between African-Americans and Hispanics: Fact or Fiction?


In the past years, there have been racial attacks between African-Americans and Hispanics within the area of Los Angeles City and surrounding suburbs. Some attacks had ended in hate crimes and others in racial riots. The most recent case was the murdered that took the life of a seventeen-year-old student from Los Angeles High school student on March 2, 2008 who was shot to death a few blocks away from his home in Arlington Heights, Los Angeles. The murderer was a Hispanic nineteen-year old member of the 18th Street Gang. This violent act of crime headed the news all day as people mourned for such horrible news. Although the Los Angeles Police Department categorized the crime as “random act of gang violence,” the question whether this crime was a hate crime was left unanswered. Racial crimes cause serious tensions within the African-American and Hispanic community as these racial attacks happen. But when did racial tension begin, what caused it, and why still persist to present?

History of African-Americans and Hispanics in California

To understand how these minority groups met, it is important to know the history behind it. The State of California belonged to Mexico before it passed to the United States’ hands. The Mexican government, after many buying offers by the U.S. government, agreed to sign the American-Mexican treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo on February, 1848. This agreement handed over the territory of Western states including California (liu.edu). After this inquiry, Americans migrated to Western territories, seeking for better economic conditions and land. African-Americans migrated to the West as workers, laborers, free men, and women laborers (liu.edu). African-American slave laborers worked on fields, were used as cattlemen, and built cabins in Western lands.

In the same year, gold was found in California and hundreds of people migrated in the search for gold. Many brought their African-American slaves with them to do the heavy labor for gold digging (liu.edu). Plus some free African-Americans became rich after finding gold. Then in the 1930s, hundreds of African-Americans migrated to the area of Los Angeles seeking for better jobs. As per the documentary Bastards of the Party, it shows how African-Americans migrated to Los Angeles but confronted racial discrimination and segregation (HBO). They ended settling down in poor areas of Los Angeles and were hired in factories and fields.

For Hispanics, these had a similar history. When the U.S. acquires California, thousands of Mexicans lived in this territory. In the book Strangers to These Shores, it states that some Mexicans were expelled discriminatorily; some others stayed (395). For those that stayed, they were also racially segregated in poor neighborhoods as the African-Americans were. Mexicans were only able to find jobs as laborers or farm workers (395). Mexicans and African-Americans encountered the same racial discrimination and segregation from the white majority.

Competition for Resources

By the end of the decade of the 1950s and early 1960s, the African-American started to spread to Western suburbs in Los Angeles. In the 1950s, the majority of people were White and few Mexican American barrios. As per the history professor Albert Camarrillo in his article Going Back to Compton states, “In 1963, the city was divided into the West side, overwhelmingly black, and the East side, predominantly white. The three faces of Compton- white, brown, and black. Now there are two – black and brown” (standford.edu). The same racial spread happened in Watts, Lynwood, and Inglewood cities.

Southern Los Angeles suburbs suffered from commercial declining causing poverty and lack of better opportunities. At first, Compton, Watts, Lynwood and Inglewood cities were doing great economically during the decade of the 1950s. However, that changed during the post-civil rights era. Professor Albert Camarillo pointed out that when Whites fled their homes and abandoned their businesses, these suburbs suffered huge declines cal estate tax commercially and real estate tax base. The cities’ infrastructures began to deteriorate. Over the next two decades drugs spread through the city” (Standford.edu). This economic deterioration put in danger the lives of minorities and people had to do anything to survive. Competition for resources was astonishing.

In this present decade, the demographic of Los Angeles suburb cities has changed but competition for resources has still persisted. In the year of 2000, the professor Camarillo states that the population of Compton changed drastically (Standford.edu). People from Central American and South America have moved to Compton and surrounding cities replacing African-Americans who were the predominant majority population in the past three decades (Standford.edu). This was due to cities’ low real-state costs and living expenses compared to other L.A. cities where the majority of people are white such as Santa Monica or West Wood cities. As per the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau, in the year of 2000 the percentage of African Americans was 40.0 percent compared to Hispanic 56.8 percent, and white 1.0 percent. In the decade of 1990s, African-Americans were 53.7 percent and Hispanic 42.4 percent and White 1.8 percent (CensusBureau.gov). City of Watts also changed drastically in the year of 2000. African-Americans consisted of 38.17 percent compared to Hispanic 60.63 percent, and White at 14.60 percent. Westchester community still slightly on top for African-Americans at 18.67 percent compared to Hispanic at 17.67 percent and White at 59.39 percent (CensusBureau.gov). African-Americans and Hispanics had to cope in order to live together willingly or unwillingly.

Another factor that puts African-Americans and Hispanics fired up is wealth. As per the 2007 Census Bureau, the median family income for Latino families was higher than for African-American families. Moreover, Hispanics had lower percentage of poverty than African-Americans. The median income for Hispanic in 2006 was $37,781 compared to $31,969 for African-Americans and White at $52,423 (Censusbureau.gov). Even for being below the poverty line, African Americans were at 24.9 percent compared to 21.8 percent of Hispanics, and White at 8.3 percent (Censusbureau.gov). Wealth is a major trend and not having enough sources of income produce racial tensions in competing against other ethnic groups which do better economically.

Occupational distribution is another field that matters for both minority
groups. As per the 2004 U.S. Census Bureau, African-Americans were at 21.7 percent at holding managerial, professional position compared to Hispanics at 17.38 percent and white at 37 percent (censusbureau.gov). For operators, fabricators, and laborers occupations, African Americans were at 23. 7 compared to 64.05 percent and White at 18.7 percent (censusbureau.gov). For farming, fishing, and forestry jobs, African-Americans were at 0.6 percent compared to Hispanics at 1.12 percent and White at 0.8 percent (censusbureau.gov). Racial discrimination in occupations continues to affect these two minority groups.

Racial tensions at Schools

Racial tensions have been present in Los Angeles schools. The murdered of the 17-year-old high school student by the 19-year-old Hispanic gang member is a vivid example of what happens in schools in Los Angeles city (LASentinelNewspaper). The Los Angeles Sentinel Newspaper had the headline “Terrorism in Los Angeles” for the violent death of the high school student (LASentinelNewspaper). Whether terrorism is or is not the perfect word to describe such tragedy, one needs to understand the fact that tensions between African-Americans and Hispanics had existed in the past. Crimes may not have been constantly done within these two minority groups during the 1950s and 1960s but surely during the 1990s.

The decade of the 1990s in Los Angeles showed racial tensions to the entire nation among minority groups against the Status Quo. Schools were not left out from racial conflicts. At Inglewood High School in 1990, there were racial conflicts between the African-American and Mexican-Americans during the cultural celebration day of Cinco de Mayo which ended in racial attacks (Foxyoutube). As showed on Youtube by Fox News, some African-Americans students decided to walkout from Cinco de Mayo meeting, paying back for what some Hispanics did for walking out of a Black History Month Assembly. At first only high school students were involved but later it was gang members. Nevertheless, school officials stated that this was not a racial issue when the truth showed different.

Racial tensions prevailed in schools. In 2007, at Santee High School located in South Los Angeles, there was a racial fight between students of African-American and Hispanics background as broadcasted by Channel 9 of Los Angeles (Channel9youtube). At first, it started from the fight of two girl students and later spread to general students, including gang members. The Police Department of Los Angeles had intervened and used physical force to stop the riots. Most recently was the racial attack that ended in riots at Lock High School (Foxyoutube). Over six hundred students were involved. The racial attack began as some Hispanics students hit an African-American student and this student went for his Black friends. Then, the riots began.

Gang Related Crimes between African-Americans and Hispanics

The 1990s was the peak of gangs in Los Angeles. As per the documentary Bastards of the Party, African-Americans gangs were big in members (BastardsoftheParty). In an article called Rise in Gang Violence by Brenda Maceo, Maceo states that from 1979 to 1994 there were 7,288 gang- related crimes homicides in Los Angeles County (usc.edu). Of the 5,541 gang-related homicide victims, 86 percent were between 15 and 34 years of age (usc.edu). African-Americans and Hispanics totaled 93 percent of all the gang-related victims. By the end of the 1990s decade, in Compton High school, there was a gang-related racial attack between Blacks and Hispanics (Foxyoutube). USC researcher Alex Alonso stated in his interview by Fox News that in the city of Compton had 36 Black gangs which claimed 54 percent of territory (Foxyoutube). This information is also shown in the documentary Bastards of the Party as producer Cle “Bone” Sloan shows that Black gangs where the only thing left out for teenagers and a good source of income that gave young African-Americans some wealth through selling drugs and weapons (BastardsoftheParty). Researcher Alonso also found out that Hispanic gang wars were also racial wars. These gangs fought not only for territory but racism.

Eye for an eye gang related crimes involve hate crimes. Right after the death of the 17-yeard-old African-American student from Los Angeles High School on March 2, 2008, a 26 year old Hispanic male was murdered. He was gunned down on March 10 on his way to home at 5:00 A.M. in the Crenshaw district (LASentinelNewspaper). In the youtube video Black and Mexican Conflict in Compton, it also shows the murdered of a Hispanic man whose life was taken away from an African-American gang member (Foxyoutube). A day later he was murdered, there was retaliation. An African-American individual was gunned down (Foxyoutube). A Hispanic person died; therefore an African-American individual had to die.

Racial Attacks in Los Angeles Prisons

Racial attacks are not only found in schools but state prisons. The New York Times had a news column on prison riots in the Institution for Men in Chino on August 9, 2009 (nytimes.com). Over 250 prisoners ended injured and hospitalizing 55 during an eleven-hour riot. The prison authorities stated that riots arose after Latino gangs and African-American gangs started to hand-to-hand combat. On March 19, 2009, at Kern Valley State Prison, over three dozen inmates ended in racial fights between African-Americans and Hispanics (Foxnews.com). One inmate died of Hispanic descent and 16 others injured. On February 25, 2008, at the Correctional Facility in Adelanto California, there was another race riot which injured 21 prisoners (ccpoa.org). Race riots are often happening in State prisons; showing some reality that still prevails in the American society concerning racial attacks.

Los Angeles Racial Riots

Los Angeles has suffered riots that erupted from ethnoviolence involving different races. In August 1965, for six days, the city of Watts lived some of the worst years ever, a social riot. As per an article published by Los Angeles Times, “the events that began in Watts remain a riot, pure and simple- a social breakdown into mob rule and criminally. To others, they were a revolt, a rebellion, an uprising” (latimes.com). The truth was that Watts’ riots did not start out of nowhere. This began due to poverty, inequality, racial discrimination, and the passage, in November 1964, of Proposition 14 that overturned the Rumford Fair Housing Act, which established equality of opportunity for black home buyers (latimes.com). What Watts riots left was 34 people, 25 of them Black, were dead and more than 1,000 were injured. More than 600 buildings were damaged or destroyed (latimes.com). Although Watts’ riots happened over forty years ago, the economic, social, discrimination issues, and division are still exist in city of Watts and in Los Angeles County in general.

The most recent riot event that also took place in Los Angeles was in 1992. Five days of rioting erupted after a jury failed in favor of four white city police officers of criminal wrongdoing in the beating an African-American motorist Rodney King. As per the book Strangers to the Shores, it estimates 58 deaths, 4,000 injuries, 11,900 arrests, and damages ranging as high as $1 billion (153). This riot was a multiracial war among African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and White people. For the same deeper causes of the 1965 riot in Watts, 1992 riots arose from poverty, poor living conditions, frustration, alienation, anger, and family disintegration.

African-Americans and Hispanics’ Image Misinterpretations

Minority groups are constantly seen on the main stream media in denigrated images. Some minority groups are targeted more than others. This is the case for African Americans and Hispanics who often are seen as two different minority groups that never would get along. Strong images of African-American and Hispanic’s hate and rivalry often seen on news are gang related crimes. Gang related crimes do not necessarily mean that particular minority groups feel that way towards other groups. However, if constant images are aired portraying such wrong sentiment of hatred, it would eventually start creating sentiments of division leading to tension. Ironically, not that many headline news are seen on T.V. about how much united Hispanics and African-Americans are but how disunited these two can be. For example, the videos on racial attacks at high schools, LA riots, and more are proof that the main stream media and as well as the White social system established want to see minority groups fight against each other.

African Americans and Hispanics’ images are wrongly misinterpreted. As per the book Race and Resistance, it states that African Americans are often seen on the main stream media as criminals, gang members, Black welfare mothers reproducing criminal children, living on welfare, uneducated, well-mannered, poor, sex offenders, homeless (55). Hispanics are also seen as criminals, gang members, poor, uneducated, illegal immigrants, traffickers of drugs, living on welfare (59). When these stereotypical and prejudiced images are combined for African-Americans and Hispanics, tensions start racially. The only few positive images African-Americans and Hispanics are give in the majority of time are in sports and entertainment. However, some images seeing on entertainment are not that racial favorable.

In the entertainment business, especially sports, African-Americans and Hispanics are often seen as two divided racial groups. For example, in the boxing entertainment industry, images of African-American and Hispanics racial rivalry are shown. This is the case of the boxing fight between Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May 2007. What is supposed to be seen as a boxing match for a Super Welterweight title becomes a racial fight to know what racial group is superiority to the other one. This creates racial tensions within the African-American and Hispanic youths and even communities as they want to see their racial fighters win over the other one. Another recent boxing match was between Antonio Margarito, a Mexican boxer, vs. Shane Mosley in January 2009. Same rivalry and hatred images were seen on T.V. and the audience split for their racial boxer.

Boxing is not only a sport where racial groups encounter but basketball. This was the case of this past basketball tournament where Los Angeles Lakers won its 15th title but outside the Staples Center, Lakers riots were took place. As per Los Angeles Times posted online, “what it began as drunken fanatics getting wild after seen their favorite basketball team won the title, it became a race riot involving African-Americans, Hispanics, and White and the Los Angeles Police Department” (latimes.com). Lakers riots had 25 people arrested and thousands of dollars for private damages. Back in the year 2000, same riots took place outside Staples Center where gang-members of Hispanic and African-Americans backgrounds encountered during the Los Angeles Lakers title celebration which caused many arrests and property damages.

Images of African-Americans and Hispanics in politics are misunderstood. In a talk show aired in Los Angeles, Esai Morales, a Mexican-American actor, stated that favoring votes to certain candidates does not mean heat towards the racial group of that particular candidate (youtube.com). Brown-Black dispute was questioned through the campaigns for the presidency of the United States in 2008. Whether the Hispanics felt for candidate Hillary Clinton and the Black community for candidate Barack Obama did not mean a racial division. However, the main media portrayed otherwise. As Esai Morales states, “The media loves to put people against each other, whether it is in jails or city of Watts where it is becoming more Central Americanized. The problems there are involve socioeconomic and power struggles” (youtube.com). Morales is right by saying that the main stream media portrays images of ethnic rivalry but the fact is that social struggles still persist in America.

Could Racial Tensions stop?

It is possible racial tensions stop at some degree but not at every social level. There is always going to be tensions due to race, religion, socioeconomic background, gender, or age. As per the book Sociology-Concepts and Applications in a Diverse World, it bases the theory of Karl Marx’s conflict perspective stated that societies consist of different groups who struggle with one another to attain societal resources that are considered valuable for existence (14). On the other hand, the government must meet the need African-Americans need and as well for the Hispanics to lower such conflict struggle. The elimination of economic despair is a key for racial tensions. Los Angeles riots began out of putting people in segregated cities, losing jobs, racial discrimination, and competition for resources. As per the book Strangers to the Shores states, “Focus on overcoming depressed urban economies, chronic unemployment, a poorly skilled and poorly educated labor force, substandard housing, and unsafe street” (353). This could help lower racial and social distance between African-Americans and Hispanics.

Educate the youth. Education is a key for success; it opens doors once doors start to be opened for one’s. As per the 2004 Census Bureau, African-American high school graduate students consisted of 80.4 percent compared to 16.4 percent college Black graduate students. Hispanics were at 66.68 percent of high school graduate students compared to 17.84 percent of college graduates (Censusbureug.gov). Schools institutions should be public and affordable at all times because majority of the minority groups cannot afford high costs for higher education.

Learn to work together. Competition for jobs has been always a struggle. Now that more Hispanics immigrants, mostly Mexicans and Central Americans, started to come to the United States for jobs from the 1980s to present, African-Americans were affected for losing their jobs. This does not mean that Hispanics were better workers but there were not enough jobs available and Hispanics started to work for less pay and no benefits. Major corporations and industries took this to their advantages and hired Hispanics over Black people. In the Blacks in the Labor Movement chapter from the book Race and Resistance, it states that Black people needed to create alliances with the Latino workers and with Asian workers. Black labor leaders pay precious little attention to uniting with Latinos. They do not appear to understand that they can strengthen themselves uniting (37). Minority group laborers must come together for the same struggle, more and better jobs and wages.

Create unity, not segregation. In the book I Have a Dream, Martin Luther king Jr. stated in one of his speeches, “Our separate struggles are really one: a struggle for freedom, for dignity and for humanity (81). Due to the struggle from the African-Americans for Civil Rights, it opened doors for other minority groups such as Mexicans, Asians, and Native-Americans to have human rights granted. Hispanics need to appreciate that and keep that in their hearts. The creation of Black-Brown coalitions and organizations is also beneficial to stop racial tensions. The more people come together, the more people are united, and the harder it is to break such racial bounds.

African-Americans and Hispanics have had a history living together in the same denigrated conditions from the 1880s to present. The lacks of resources and opportunities have affected both minority groups for socioeconomic advancements. Racial tensions moved from streets to schools affecting the youth. Gang-related crimes between African-Americans and Hispanics involve hate crimes. Prisons in California house big majorities of Black and Hispanic prisoners causing internal racial tensions to bloom. Riots throughout the history of Los Angeles have been the face of racial discrimination against Blacks and Hispanics. The mass commercial media constantly displays images of African-Americans and Hispanics divisions. Racial tensions can be solved at higher degrees when these two minority groups educate, learn, and create unity. Without doubt, racial tensions within the African-American and Hispanic community cause serious damages to coupe together in order to live in a well-community-based society.

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