This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
8/14/2019 "Cross-Cutural Issues: It's Unity". East Wind, West Wind, MSU-Mankato, Fall 1994
The Black vs. Asian violence seen inthe 1992 Los Angles
riots, and the ongoing Black vs. Hispanic conflicts in south
Florida are but two of the most graphic examples of the
fights among people of color in many communities. The
consequences of this are also obvious. In Los Angeles, an
European-American right-wing businessman becamemayor in 1993 after defeating a Chinese-American oppo
nent who lacked the support of Blacks and Latinos in a city
where whites are a minority. In south Florida, due to thepolitical disagreement between Blacks and Latinos, plansfor a new minority congressional district were canceled.
Even within ethnic groups there are social, economic,
regional and class barriers standing on the way of achiev
ing greater solidarity. For Latinos, the problem is com
pounded by the fact that each major group has a particular
concern that isquite different from the others. To Mexican
Americans, the single largest Latino community, immigra
tion law reform is an important issue; however, for Puerto
Ricans (whoare all U.S. citizens by birth), it is not an issue
at all. On the other hand, Cubans are mostly interested inhow to influence developments in Cuba.
Despite these divisions, there ishope thatthrough inspired
and determined leadership our communities can pull to
gether and form a common front. The Reverend Jesse
Jackson and his !!Rainbow Coalition" had led the way for
many years, reaching out to all sectors interested in
ending injustice. The N.A.A.C.P., the most influentialAfrican-American organization, has recently stepped up
it's efforts to expand the membership and include Latinos
and their interests. Multi-ethnic and multi-cultural groups
and organizations are becoming increasingly active inmany parts of the country, influencing political and economic decisions in their communities.
But we must also look beyond race for unity and support.
Other groups in society, besides people of color, have felt
the same discrimination and injustices and are natural
allies in our struggle. The Jewish population in America
share many of the historical prejudices that racial minori
ties have endured for centuries. Jews also have a strong
sense of justice and a record of involvement in civil rights
movements. Their political and economic influence could
greatly boost any reform initiatives supported by people ofcolor. The feminist and gay communities are also groups
in society that, while mostly representing people of White/
European-American ancestry, are also faced with many
obstacles similar to those encountered by other minority
groups.
Itwould bea long and arduous process to build a coalition
among people of color, and even more difficult to include
other progressive elements such asJews, feminists, gays,
and environmentalists. There are many prominent lead-
6
ers among the African-American and Latino communitie
that are opposed to any connection with Jews and gay
while the feminist movement for many years exclude
women of color from leadership positions. Regardlessthese past and present conflicts, we should all realize th
we really have no choice. The forces opposed to equal
and justice for all Americans are formidable. Unity in th
face of this threat must be our overriding priority at th