Latinos and black Americans have an enemy – and it is not each other | Jason Nichols
The need for political unity between African-Americans and Latinos is compelling, not least because the futures of African-Americas and Latinos are inextricably linked. We often live in close proximity to one another and both struggle with issues like mass incarceration, racial profiling, police brutality, educational achievement gaps, health disparities, poverty, food deserts and housing discrimination.
There are examples of where political unity between the two groups has yielded desired results, from the election of Harold Washington in Chicago, Antonio Villaraigosa in Los Angeles, and most recently, Barack Obama. Dr King knew and supported the work of Cesar Chavez, and met with many other leaders in the Chicano Movement. We cannot afford to allow trumped up (pun intended) scare tactics to divide us.
Donald Trump recently exploited the grief of Jamiel Shaw, a black man from California whose son was tragically gunned down by an undocumented immigrant in 2008, for his own political ends. Shaw's pain over the incident must be unbearable, but the likes of Trump use his loss to play on the often tenuous relationship between African Americans and Latinos, particularly surrounding the issue of immigration. Trump is fully aware what having a black man at his side as he tours the nation. He is able to sidestep allegations of racism, while he spews vile nativist xenophobia and divides the black and Latino electorate, which have historically been key to progressive victories at the polls.
This strategy is timely because Trump, the divisive entrepreneur turned presidential candidate, has suffered financial losses due to his recent
ugly anti-immigrant and anti-Latino comments. NBC has severed its ties with "The Donald" (an old nickname for Trump), and everyone from judges to contestants from Latin America have opted not to take part in the Miss Universe competition that Trump has a major stake in.
Donald Trump is no emissary for Black America either. He recently blamed the struggles faced by African-American youths on their supposed lack of "spirit"; Trump Management settled a case after being sued by the Justice Department for refusing to rent apartments to black applicants and John O'Donnell, a former president of the Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino, alleged that Donald Trump thought laziness was a genetic trait in black people.
Trump, bestselling author and regular Fox News guest Ann Coulter and many other hateful voices from the far right have said black people and Latinos are rapists – and they use skewed statistics to back their claims. While Coulter and others sound eerily like Dylann Roof (and could have potentially been his influences), they tend to leave out the fact 70% of child molesters are white males.
Donald Trump and Coulter are perfect examples of the fact that Latinos and black Americans share common enemies. So what is getting in the way of a stronger and more lasting alliance between us?
There have been plenty of articles which detail reasons why African Americans should fear undocumented immigrants. The gist is usually: "they are taking our jobs". But this assumes that those jobs were made available to African-Americans in the first place. Black unemployment levels reached 21% in 1983, when the number of undocumented immigrants residing in the US was around 2 million, or less than one percent of the nation's total population. As the number of undocumented immigrants actually dropped by one million from 1980, unemployment for African Americans skyrocketed. The barriers to black economic success today remain the same as then: institutional racism.
Were undocumented immigrants stealing jobs from black people, more educated African-Americans would find themselves unaffected by the influx of workers from Mexico and Central America, and would have employment statistics on par with white workers. However, educated black Americans also lag behind. A University of Michigan study found that black graduates of elite universities also encounter roadblocks to employment or are offered lower starting salaries.
An African-American with some college education has roughly the same chance to gain employment as a white high school dropout. There are many reasons for this, like the fact that white employers tend to hire within their own social circles, which often unintentionally excludes black job applicants. These biases are only exacerbated by a drug policy that lands large numbers of black men and women behind bars, and which creates major obstacles to employment once they are freed.
This kind of discrimination affects Latinos in America as well, which is why the overall framework for racial justice and equality should include immigrants from Mexico and other places, whether they arrive with or without documents.
I sympathize with Jamiel Shaw over the senseless death of his son, Jamiel Shaw II. I also believe that undocumented immigrants who break serious laws by committing violent acts or engaging in drug trafficking should face the full extent of the law and be subject to deportation. But I think the true culprit in this case – aside from the individual who pulled the trigger – was gang related violence, which plagues both black and brown communities and claims the lives of scores of innocent people.
While there are no short-term fixes for this problem, black and brown men, like Mr Shaw and me, should consider volunteering our time to mentor African American and Latino youth and steering them in the right direction, as many across the country are already doing. This would be a more effective way to address gang violence than rallying against an equally vulnerable community and aligning with a man who some time ago would have denied Shaw and his son a place to live.
One need not be reminded of the famous Martin Niemoller quote in order to know what happens when we do not speak up on behalf of other oppressed groups. There are groups that understand the need for unity between our two communities. In 2011, the NAACP stood alongside NCLR to fight racial profiling in Florida. And Casa de Maryland, a Latino advocacy group, has been extremely vocal in support of Black Lives Matter since the death of Freddie Gray, who died while in the custody of the police in Baltimore.
The political futures of African Americans and Latinos is like a card game: and black and brown kings and queens played strategically and cohesively can trump a few jokers.
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I do not believe trump uttered such a opinion. I will only believe it when I hear it come out of his mouth. I do not want to believe it because I do not believe that trump can be so dumb to the level of his making such a dumb statement. I do not believe he said it because he also said - he would like Oprah as his running mate. His "the apprentice" show was made into a success by Omarosa - a black lady who was on the first episode of the apprentice.Trump is crazy but I do not believe he is that crazy as to make such a stupid statement. I actually believe that the statement is the thought of the liberal propagandist by the name of Christine Mendoza who in her attempt to make trump look bad to the black voters is trying to present him in the worst ways possible.Thanks,Tajudeen Raji
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On Oct 26, 2015, at 11:07 AM, Segun Sanni therealsegun@yahoo.com [YanArewa] <YanArewa@yahoogroups.com> wrote:Menu
TRUMP: AFRICANS ARE LAZY, ONLY GOOD AT LOVEMAKING AND EATING
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By Christine Mendoza
Once again, US business magnate Donald Trump has expressed his deep disgust for Africans by referring to them as lazy fools only good at eating, lovemaking and thuggery. Speaking in Indianapolis, Trump who is also the republican Presidential torch bearer reiterated his promise to deport Africans especially those of Kenyan origin including their son Barrack Obama.
"African Americans are very lazy. The best they can do is gallivanting around ghettoes, lamenting how they are discriminated. These are the people America doesn't need. They are the enemies of progress. Look at African countries like Kenya for instance, those people are stealing from their own government and go to invest the money in foreign countries. From the government to opposition, they only qualify to be used as a case study whenever bad examples are required. How do you trust even those who have ran away to hide here at the United States hiding behind education? I hear they abuse me in their blogs but I don't care because even the internet they are using is ours and we can decide to switch it off from this side. These are people who import everything including matchsticks. In my opinion, most of these African countries ought to be recolonized again for another 100 years because they know nothing about leadership and self governance" Explained Donald Trump bitterly as he illuminated how he plans to reconstruct America and restore its lost glory.
"I promise to make America great again by restoring our dignity that we have since lost through Obama. The more reason why I still believe that he, and his Kenyan brothers and sisters should be deported back to Kenya to make America safe"
Source: politics.co.ke
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