Black-Brown Relations and Stereotypes

3. Areas of Disagreement

Chapter 3 Areas of Disagreement There is conflict and competition and fighting and all of that because we are all scrambling over each other trying to get somewhere . T--- U.S.- H  Blacks and Browns have to work on our differences and come together to form a permanent and history-making coalition.We have to talk about it, write about it, dream about it, and make it happen, because if we don’t, the powers that be are going to keep us divided and prevent us from realizing our common destinies of justice and fairness. T--- A A  Disagreements between ethnic groups in the United States are not unknown . There has been conflict between Scots and Irish and Germans and Italians and between Whites and most people of color. Disagreements also exist between Blacks and Jews, Asians and Blacks, and, as this chapter illustrates, between Hispanics and Blacks. Our discussion in this chapter is drawn from the Black-Brown survey conducted in Houston in  and from interviews carried out over the past ten years among African Americans and Hispanics in Houston. The interviews highlight some major findings of the survey and allow the participants to speak for themselves. The rapid increase in the number of Hispanics in Houston creates the impression among many people, including African Americans, of being overwhelmed. Hispanics are now seen everywhere in the city, as workers, shoppers, and residents. Areas of the city that were predominantly White thirty years ago are now Hispanic enclaves. Hispanics are significant contributors and competitors in the economy  Tseng 2002.9.13 08:50 6677 Mindiola / BLACK-BROWN RELATIONS AND STEREOTYPES / sheet 59 of 165 Table . Index of Dissimilarity, Harris County,  G C I % Hispanic/Non-Hispanic Black  U.S.-born Hispanic/Non-Hispanic Black  Foreign-born Hispanic/Non-Hispanic Black  Note: Distribution to foreign-born, native status for tracts with fewer than  Hispanics is assumed to be constant .% foreign, the average for these tracts. Sources: Data are from STFA (from Census Web site). Foreign-born distribution is from U.S Bureau of the Census , table . and the political and social life of the city. Competition can and often does lead to conflict as groups put their interests above those of others. Physical and Social Space in Houston Historically, Hispanics and African Americans have not lived in the same areas of Houston. As Anglos began to leave the inner city for the suburbs in the s, African Americans began to move in. They were joined by Hispanics, who not only moved into former Anglo areas, but into African American neighborhoods as well (Purser ). The result is that in Houston Hispanics and African Americans are moderately integrated residentially. The index of dissimilarity, a measure of residential segregation , shows that  percent of either Hispanics or African Americans in  would have to move into the other’s neighborhoods in order for there to be complete residential integration (table .). Preliminary figures from the  census indicate that the index is  percent, meaning that residential integration of Hispanics and African Americans increased during the decade. Yet the primary setting of interaction between Hispanics and Blacks is not the neighborhood but the workplace (table .). Neighborhoods rank a distant second. In the workplace, interaction may be required to accomplish tasks. But there is also an increased probability of informal interaction, simply because the opportunity presents itself. Hispanic immigrants live among African Americans to the same degree as U.S.-born Hispanics, but they report considerably less interaction (table .). Approximately  percent of Hispanic immigrants in the  • -    Tseng 2002.9.13 08:50 6677 Mindiola / BLACK-BROWN RELATIONS AND STEREOTYPES / sheet 60 of 165 Black-Brown survey say they never, or almost never, have any interaction with African Americans, compared to  percent of U.S.-born Hispanics. Language differences and workplaces that tend to hire immigrants exclusively explain, in part, low levels of contact and interaction (Rodriguez ). U.S.-born Hispanics, because of their more frequent interaction with African Americans and their relative familiarity with both groups, become mediators between foreign-born Hispanics and African Americans . This occurs in workplaces common to all three groups and in the broader society, where U.S.-born Hispanics are involved as never before in protecting the rights of immigrants. Prominent Hispanic organizations involved in immigrant issues are the League of United Latin AmeriTable . Settings of Intergroup Interaction A A A A A A I  I...