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FROM: Mrdaveyd@aol.com<br>
DATE: Wed, 11 May 2005 18:29:22 EDT<br><br>
<br>
BLACK – BROWN TENSIONS IN LA – WHAT IS BEHIND IT?<br>
by DAVEY D<br><br>
</b>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.
<br><br>
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 <b>CINCO DE
MAYO</b> which was yesterday. Fortunately nothing major jumped off, as a
record number 51 thousand kids stayed home from school. <br><br>
That’s close to 20% of the LA School District.<br>
<br>
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. <br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
<b>*****************<br><br>
</b>Hey everyone,<br><br>
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. <br><br>
Please read below and take it very seriously.<br><br>
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...<br><br>
<b>Public Interest Investigations, Inc.<br>
1055 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 1985<br>
Los Angeles, CA 90017<br><br>
</b>It’s 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. <br>
<br>
I caught up with LA rapper KAM not to long ago who spoke on the
seriousness of this situation.<br><br>
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. <br>
<br>
For those who don’t know, in the CALI penal system, inmates are separated
by race, ethnicity and gang affiliation. Because the Latino population is
<br>
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. <br>
<br>
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.<br><br>
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. <br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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. <br>
<br>
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, there’s 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. <br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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. What’s happened is that in the last election
Latino mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa saw his chances to become
LA’s 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. <br>
<br>
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 LA’s Black
community.<br>
<br>
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
LA’s 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
LA’s Black community who were determined to pay him back during this
current election.<br>
<br>
Hanh’s 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<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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?<br>
<br>
Something to ponder<br>
Davey D <br>
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