To Live and Let Live in South L.A.

by New American Media (reposted)

Tue, Sep 12, 2006 8:21AM

The national debate over immigration reform has spotlighted simmering tensions between black and Latino communities, among other discords. Lost in the rancor are the voices of longtime black and Latino community leaders who insist that harmony is possible. A close look at South Los Angeles -- a community that was literally transformed in a decade by immigration -- shows the key role these leaders and old-fashioned community organizing play in tempering group rivalries at times of unsettling change. The work of people like them across the country will be crucial in bolstering Americans' ability to live with one another as immigration dramatically alters the nation. Rene Ciria-Cruz, a NAM editor, wrote this story as a Racial Justice Fellow of the USC Annenberg's Institute for Justice and Journalism.

SOUTH LOS ANGELES--"Day to day we all get along," assures community leader Arturo Ybarra, unintentionally alluding to Rodney King's famous post-riot plea, "Can we all get along?"

Ybarra, a gentle, dark-complexioned man in his early 60s, is president of the Watts/Century Latino Organization (WCLO), the most visible Latino association in Watts.

He has lived in his neighborhood since 1969 and seen changes that have unnerved the thousands of black residents who have moved out to the calmer suburbs.

If Ybarra can't help sounding slightly apprehensive it's because the bitter national quarrel over immigration has struck a discordant note in Latino and African American relations, and he lives in a neighborhood shared, sometimes warily, by both communities.

Read More
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=2cd50e7e89931c1e41014f5cbb6d7add

§It's Not a Zero-Sum Game

by New American Media (reposted)

Wed, Sep 13, 2006 6:49AM

WATTS, Los Angeles--In the retelling of the experiences of South L.A. activists like Arturo Ybarra, what becomes clear is that joint efforts to confront shared problems, more than rose-colored visions of interethnic harmony, were the key tools in successfully bridging the divide between the black and Latino communities here over the years.

But the first thing they'll try to clarify is that things aren't as bad as they sound.

In Los Angeles these days, intermittent schoolyard brawls and street shootings are unfailingly reported as potential racial incidents. In this South Los Angeles neighborhood, however, daily interaction between African Americans and Latinos seems uneventful.

On Watts' South Central or Wilmington Avenue, Latina schoolgirls casually walk past groups of chatting black men without any hint of trepidation. In the public library black and brown kids comfortably share tables and line up for computers.

When asked about black-brown tensions a librarian shrugs and says dismissively, "Yes, well, I've seen some irritants."

At the edge of the neighborhood, in Willowbrook, blacks, browns -- and whites -- have lunch in a seafood restaurant gaily decorated with palms and thatched palapas, like a Mexican beach shack. Only the thick bulletproof glass window that protects the cashier and the kitchen hints of the possibility of danger.

"The divide isn't as big as it's made up to be," insists Andre Herndon, the young executive editor of The Wave Newspaper Group, an African American chain. Herndon covered city hall in Redlands and San Bernardino before working for The Wave in 2000. He took over as executive editor three years ago.

Read More
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=6047cf3649a6561c091b6c0fd5eb84b6

Add Your Comments

Support Independent Media

We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!