Michael Jefferson.
(Opinion) In October 2021 three high powered Latino politicians — President of the Los Angeles City Council Nury Martinez and council members Kevin de Leon and Gil Cedillo — gathered to have a little chat.
The conversation centered around “redistricting” (i.e. redrawing of council district boundaries) — or, more specifically, how to game the redistricting process in Los Angeles.
The goal was to protect and enhance Latino political power in the city and, ostensibly, to weaken Black political power.
The three Democrats were joined by fellow Democrat Ron Herrera, who is the president of the LA County Federation of Labor.
The private discussion took place in a meeting room in the headquarters of a local labor organization. According to reports, the meeting lasted an hour. Unbeknownst to the small gang of four, the conversation was recorded. To say the content of the dialogue was “ugly” is an understatement.
Martinez, the first Latina to hold the post of president of the council, was heard on the recording saying that another council member – Mike Bonin, who is gay and white — handled his young adopted son, who is Black, as if he was an “accessory.” Martinez then said the child “parece changito,” or that the child was “like a little monkey.”
Martinez then referenced an incident involving the same child on a float at the 2021 Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade, stating that Bonin failed to control his child and the float nearly tipped over. “They’re raising him like a little white kid,” Martinez said in the recording. “I was like, this kid needs a beat-down. Let me take him around the corner and then I’ll bring him back.” She also said of her colleague, “Bonin thinks he’s f**king Black.”
Martinez also went after Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, stating, “He’s with the Blacks.”
She wasn’t finished.
In discussing the largely Latino area of Koreatown in Los Angeles, she and Cedillo can be heard mocking Oaxacans from the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca. Martinez calls them “little short dark people… I don’t know what village they came out of. “ At one point she calls them “Tan feos,” meaning “they’re ugly.” A male voice in the recording refers to them as “Indios,” which is, reportedly, a racist term used regularly in Mexico.
The recording of the conversation was uploaded to Reddit. According to Reddit, the account of the user who posted the recording has been suspended, but the recording has since gone viral. The identity of the individual(s) responsible for the illegal recording (California does not permit a person to record another without consent) has not been determined.
The fallout has been devastating for all involved. Martinez has resigned from her leadership post as well as her seat on the Council. Herrera has also resigned. As of this writing De Leon and Cedillo have refused calls to resign. However, Cedillo will be leaving office in December. He was defeated earlier in the year in a primary election by a young progressive candidate, Eunisses Hernandez. Needless to say, the relationship between Black and Latino leaders in Los Angeles is now strained.
Many Blacks, including myself, are not surprised by the content of the conversation. Many of us have long recognized the racism emanating from the Latino community. In fact, through our interactions with Afro-Latinos we have become familiar with accounts of racism/colorism within the Latino community.
While the content of the dialogue was quite disturbing, at least the proverbial cat is now “out of the bag.” The question for Black leadership and the Black community is: Where do we go from here? Given the racial dynamics between us, do we continue to nurture a political alliance with the Latino community?
Here’s what I think.
Growing up in public housing and attending public school in the Northeast Bronx, I gained an appreciation for diversity, a love for humanity. While most of my childhood friends were Black, a significant number were Latino. The few white friends I had in elementary and junior high school were mostly Jewish. When I left the public school system after eighth grade and enrolled at Cardinal Spellman High School, at the time a predominantly white school, my circle of friends became even more diverse.
However, as I grew into adulthood I felt a special camaraderie with those in the Latino community. Maybe it had something to do with our shared experiences. Our communities were in many respects (i.e. socially, economically, politically) similarly situated. For full disclosure, my parents divorced when I was young and my father remarried a Puerto Rican woman. Three of my siblings are Afro-Latino. I’m sure that had something to do with my allegiance.
When I attended college and led the Black Student Union (BSU), one of my primary goals was to cultivate a political alliance with the Organization of Latin American Students (OLAS). I also sought an alliance with white progressive students who were members of Students for Peace (SFP). Interestingly enough, the leadership of OLAS was far less enthusiastic about an alliance with the BSU than I would have thought.
When I graduated from college and made my initial foray into the bare-knuckle politics of New Haven, my interactions with members of the Latino community broadened. It was then I made a startling discovery: Latino leaders in the city were not as interested in forming an alliance with Black leadership as they were with establishing relations with the whites who ran the city.
To be sure, I was told by several Black political figures it was ”a waste of time” to covet such a union. Latino leaders were simply not interested.
Around the same time, a Black friend of mine who ran for political office in a heavily populated Latino community where he grew up told me: “Don’t sleep on the racism in the Latino community.” I was hurt, disappointed and, honestly, offended by what I perceived as an act of betrayal. My friend and I were in our early twenties.
Still, I wasn’t deterred. I refused to abandon the quest to make Black and Brown unity a reality. The pursuit made so much sense. A no-brainer. Think about it: Two similarly situated, non-white communities sharing both logistical and human resources. It had all the makings of a powerful political alliance.
It didn’t take long for me to realize I was being naïve. Even my Latino peers showed little interest in launching a Black and Brown political union. To this day, as we see in Los Angeles, there appears to be more of an inclination among Latino leadership to compete against the Black community for power rather than combining forces for the good of both communities.
Many American Blacks like myself have grown accustomed to being shunned by individuals from other marginalized groups, including Asian ethnic groups and Black ethnic groups from throughout the African diaspora (i.e. Caribbeans, Africans). It appears the quest and desire to fully assimilate (i.e. to be white adjacent) and/or be accepted by America’s dominant culture trumps the logic of developing a formidable social, economic and political alliance.
On its face the collective rebuff is wholly irrational. To allow one’s group to be alienated from potential allies not only invites needless animosity between marginalized groups, it also preserves the status quo. What exactly is the projected end game for these groups and/or individuals? If the logic behind this “let’s go it alone” scheme is to attain a more elevated position in the mythical racial caste system of American society then it is a terribly flawed strategy.
So that we’re clear, the racial caste system in America is a two-tiered structure. White people occupy the upper tier, and then there is everyone else. And make no mistake about it, many (i.e. tens of millions) in the dominant culture are determined to keep it as such. Any attempt to alter the historical arrangement will be met with unyielding resistance.
I’ve always believed the logical approach – the smart move, so to speak — is for all marginalized groups (Black, Brown, Asian, etc.) as well as marginalized whites and whites of good will to create a formidable anti-racist movement that can fundamentally challenge and subsequently transform the country’s existing social, political and economic order. A successful outcome means everyone gets to eat!
Those who choose to embrace identity politics and who fail to understand the need to unite based on a shared social, political and economic reality are destined to fail. They will fail because neo-tribalism spawns failure. It is a recipe for disaster.
Neo-tribalism has a polarizing influence that blinds its members to their own social, political and economic reality. Oftentimes it steers its adherents to betray their own self-interest. And while it may serve the interest of a small powerful clique in the larger group dynamic, the lives of the rank and file at best remain unchanged.
In spite of Nury Martinez, her co-conspirators and like minded individuals, Black leadership and Black communities throughout this country must refrain from any action that further erodes whatever semblance of unity presently exists between Black, Brown and other marginalized communities. Regardless of our quarrels, trepidations and cultural differences, it still makes sense to unite.
Know this: The world is getting smaller, and America is a rapidly evolving society. A creeping fascism is on the horizon. Any marginalized group that believes it can advance an effective national or even regional agenda (i.e. social, political, economic) independent of other similarly situated groups will quickly discover the quest to be an effort in futility.
Intelligent and capable leaders from marginalized communities have long understood this truth and have for better or worse, sought alliances across the board. We should remain committed to such a strategy. The stakes are way too high to reject it.
This alliance is mercenary and brown will soon fly the coop! Mark me!