ANALYSIS/OPINION

Racism in America has often been reduced to white-against-black discrimination, and understandably so. After all, it was white colonists who forcibly removed Africans from their homeland and brought them to America to serve as slaves on plantations.

Following the Civil War and the end of slavery in America, this country continued to struggle with racism. It took the dedication of Dr. Martin Luther King and a movement of civil rights activism to further ease the divisions among us.

Racial tension persists to this day, most recently seen in the shooting of Trayvon Martin and the events that followed.

But another kind of racism has emerged, unreported by the mainstream media. I’m talking about Hispanic racism against blacks.

As Latin American immigrants continue to flood the United States, both legally and illegally, discrimination against black Americans is also growing.

In 2011 a large Latino gang located in East Los Angeles was indicted for attempting to forcibly remove a neighborhood of black residents from the San Gabriel Valley. For 15 years, this gang led a campaign of attacks and firebombings on black families living in the town.

Unfortunately, incidents like this are all too common in Los Angeles and in other major U.S. cities.

In Compton, California, the Los Angeles Police Department recently expressed concern over the number of attacks on black families by Latino gangs within the past decade.

Speaking of one particular incident, the Los Angeles Times reported, “A black family — a mother, three teenage children and a 10-year-old boy — moved into a little yellow home in Compton over Christmas vacation. When a friend came to visit, four men in a black SUV pulled up and called him a ‘n–-r,’ saying black people were barred from the neighborhood, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies. They jumped out, drew a gun on him and beat him with metal pipes. It was just the beginning of what detectives said was a campaign by a Latino street gang to force an African-American family to leave.”

Many Latin American immigrants come from countries where racism has only recently been, or has yet to be, deinstitutionalized. In many countries in the region, according to Tanya Hernandez, professor of law at Fordham University, “both law and practice have discriminated against the region’s 150 million Afro-descendants.”

In Cuba, Afro-Cuban activists claim blacks face discrimination for certain jobs, particularly managerial positions, have poor access to health care and are relegated to poor housing.

In Colombia, 288,000 Afro-Colombians have been forcibly removed from their communities as of 2009 as civil unrest continues to plague the country.

Many countries in Latin America have only recently begun to fight back against the racism within their borders. Colombia passed a comprehensive anti-discrimination law in 2011. Brazil passed an affirmative action law only two years ago.

But as Americans know all too well, racism doesn’t disappear overnight from the hearts and minds of individuals. Dismantling racism requires a generational transformation and then some.

This personal transformation has yet to happen in many Hispanic communities. A Duke University study in 2006 reported 60 percent of Hispanic respondents believed that few or almost no blacks were hard-working or could be trusted.

In light of the ongoing reality of Hispanic racism against blacks, Congress should be very careful when addressing immigration reform. The rule of law must be preserved. Latin American immigrants who come here lawfully must leave their native country’s racial prejudices behind and live peacefully with American citizens of every color.

We are a nation of laws. The rights and dignity of all Americans must be guarded against and protected. Anything less is unacceptable.

• Armstrong Williams is sole owner/manager of Howard Stirk Holdings and executive editor of American CurrentSee Online Magazine.

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