[News] Black-Brown tensions in LA
News at freedomarchives.org
News at freedomarchives.org
Thu May 12 08:59:04 EDT 2005
FROM: Mrdaveyd at aol.com
DATE: Wed, 11 May 2005 18:29:22 EDT
BLACK BROWN TENSIONS IN LA WHAT IS BEHIND IT?
by DAVEY D
For those of you reading this who live outside of Los Angeles you should
note that for the past few days folks have been on edge because of
increasing racial tension between Blacks and Mexicans. Over the past month
there have been a few brawls at local high schools including a huge one at
Jefferson High School involving more than 200 people.
Now the tensions have been inflamed by a letter that has been circulating
around the city earlier this week claiming that in retaliation for some
beef between Black and Latino gangs, 500 Black kids wearing white t-shirts
would be targeted and killed by Mexican gangs on CINCO DE MAYO which was
yesterday. Fortunately nothing major jumped off, as a record number 51
thousand kids stayed home from school.
Thats close to 20% of the LA School District.
There was one reported stand off between Black and Latino students at
Lynwood High which is right outside Compton. But that was quickly quelled.
Obviously 500 brothas did not get killed but tensions are still high as we
head into the weekend.
Below is the letter that was sent out via email and then later reproduced
and passed out in malls and campuses throughout Los Angeles. For the most
part, the letter appears to be a hoax. Folks who work closely with the
gangs down here have not heard of any craziness jumping off, but because
the letter has been so widely circulated, it has led to some town hall
meetings and increased police presence on all the high school campuses down
here.
*****************
Hey everyone,
We all have friends who this can affect unfortunately. This is not a joke,
and you know this if you've been watching the news lately. There are no
city limits on the actions taking place below.
Please read below and take it very seriously.
Unfortunately, the word on the street (which has been confirmed by a
probation officer) is that the Rolling 60's (an LA gang) stole 160 kilo's
of cocaine from the Mexican Mafia. In retaliation, the Mexican Mafia and
other Mexican gangs have decided to target and kill 400-1000 black men of
all ages who are wearing white t-shirts. This is not limited to the
freeways..... I understand that this is very real and very serious. Please
pass this on to EVERYONE that you know. I suggest you do not wear any white
shirts at all if possible. Also, if you have on a dress shirt, consider
wearing your jacket over it...
Public Interest Investigations, Inc.
1055 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 1985
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Its important to note that this on going beef between Black and Brown is
not happening in vacuum and seems to be sparking off in cities with large
minority populations with increasing regularity.
I caught up with LA rapper KAM not to long ago who spoke on the seriousness
of this situation.
He noted that he spends a lot of time working to heal any rifts which he
says starts from the racial segregation and divide and conquer techniques
used in the California prisons. He noted that this tactic has now spilled
out onto the streets and is starting to impact everyday folks buy into
these rumors of conflict.
For those who dont know, in the CALI penal system, inmates are separated
by race, ethnicity and gang affiliation. Because the Latino population is
so large (almost a third of the state is Latino), prison officials separate
Northern and Southern CALI Mexicans. Within the prisons gangs have formed
and alliances made with Northern Mexicans known as Nortenos hooking up with
Black inmates and the Southern Mexicans known as Surenos aligning
themselves with the White Aryan Brotherhood. The initial split with
Northern and Southern Mexicans is something that many feel was a well
orchestrated a divide and conquer plan politicos that went into effect
years ago to stem any sort of large Brown block holding and yielding social
and political power.
KAM concluded as he did in his landmark record 'Keep the Peace' which
addresses this issue that Black and Brown are kin to each other and that
all of us are going to have to be aware of the outside forces that
continuously work to keep large groups of people divided and
separated. Black and Brown unity becomes threatening to some who wish to
maintain power and see the large numbers that both groups have as a threat
to everything from job security to political outcomes on key issues.
During our conversation we spoke about how the police seemed to work
overtime to try and stir up beef after the Rodney King uprisings where many
of the Crip and Blood sets formed a truce. Those undermining efforts were
also directed at the Latino gangs who also formed truces after the riots.
When these efforts by the police failed to eradicate the truces you
suddenly started to find an increase in tensions between Black and Brown.
This latest scenario involving the letter warning Black kids to not wear
white t-shirts on Cinco de Mayo was a deliberate attempt to create drama
where there wasn't any.
Long time rapper Poetess who does a lot of community work here in LA on
KKBT the Beat100.3 explained that while older folks may not have
immediately bought into any of this, it's young cats and BGs (baby gang
members) who may get caught up and feel a need to show and prove. Although
CINCO DE MAYO has passed with weekend celebrations set to kick off, many
are still concerned.
We should also note that recent tension has been exacerbated by a hostile
political climate here in CALI. Part of it centers around the recent
remarks and subsequent endorsement voiced by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
of the controversial Minute Men vigilantes patrolling the borders
separating the US from Mexico. The Governator who is an immigrant himself
says he wants the Minute Men to come to California.
His remarks have been compounded by the objections voiced by other
political leaders in LA who felt that a number of recently erected
billboards advertising a Spanish language radio station we re offensive.
The Billboard says Welcome to Los Angles, Mexico with the words US crossed
out. The overt reaction harks back to the type of
anti-immigrant (translation-Anti-Mexican) climate that has been in effect
over the past few years that lead to Prop 187 (anti-immigration bill) and
Prop 225 (English only initiative) being voted into law.
Many forget that a lot of folks of Mexican descent are keenly aware that
the California is one of the seven western states that was once a part of
what was called Atzlan. In other words, theres a strong sense that Latinos
in CALI did not cross the border, the border crossed them and that at the
end of the day this is indigenous land. Sadly there have been a number of
right-wing zealots who have tried to denounce this notion by calling it
fiction. Some have gone so far as to try and shut down and silence
professors and other public educators who have spoken about Atzlan.
Sadly because of perceived racial tensions in the past, much of which has
started out prison we had a number of Southern CALI Black folks voted along
with some of the oppressive measures I mentioned.
The other thing that is being looked at and causing more than a few to
speculate, is that this latest rise in tension between Black and Brown may
actually be connected to the highly contentious mayoral campaign that is in
full swing here in LA. Whats happened is that in the last election Latino
mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa saw his chances to become LAs first
Latino mayor in more than a hundred years, derailed when prominent Black
leaders including Congresswoman Maxine Waters and former LA
Laker/businessman Magic Johnson threw their weight and influence behind
James Hahn.
Hahn was given the nod because of the strong allegiance his dad Kenneth
Hahn a former LA supervisor had formed with Black leaders over his long
political career. There was a sense from politicians like Waters to back
James Hahn because of the strong support his father had shown LAs Black
community.
To make a long story short, the Black vote that Hahn secured gave him
victory in a close race. The new Mayor returned the favor by stabbing LAs
Black leadership in the back. He promptly recommended and backed the firing
the popular Black police Chief Bernard Parks, replacing him with former
NY and Boston police Chief Bill Bratton. This was a not only a major
embarrassment for those Black leaders who backed his campaign, but it also
set deep wedge in all sorts of political circles. First Black-Latino
relations became even more strained because of what many saw as a sell out
move. It caused irreparable damage between Han and LAs Black community
who were determined to pay him back during this current election.
Hanhs mistreatment and betrayal of Black folks in LA led to a rare
political alliance between the two communities. Both Black and Brown had
come together to support Villaraigosa and early on he had a substantial
lead in this Mayoral race. This is supported by a recent article in an
article that appeared in Hispanic Business
Now with the May 17th election just 10 days away, we suddenly have race
riots and threats of Blacks being killed by Latinos being front page news.
The timing and political implications of this have not gone unnoticed.
Nothing happens in a vacuum. And as a result a lot of questions are being
asked.
Is this latest round of tension between Black and Brown in LA the result of
shady police divide and conquer tactics when you consider that the current
LAPD administration may owe Hanh a favor? Is the widely circulated letter
in anyway shape or form connected to his campaign which stands to benefit
the most in a highly contested race? Will the Black community that seemed
perched to vote for Villaraigosa pull back and not go to the polls at all
because of this racial tension? Stranger and more insidious things have
happened in high stakes political races. Considering that Hahn had no
problems stooping so low during the last election to backstab the people
who backed him the most, how can one not look at the possibility that his
campaign his behind this erroneous letter?
Something to ponder
Davey D
The Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-9977
www.freedomarchives.org
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