It couldn't have been more timely although at the time I checked it out, it really didn't seem so. The book is "Presumed Alliance: The Unspoken Conflict Between Latinos and Blacks and What It Means for America" by Nicolas C. Vaca. It is the story behind the "other" civil rights struggle in modern America. The title comes from the presumption that many people have that blacks and latinos share much of the same history of segregation and civil rights suppression and that, therefore, they are "presumed" to be allies in the struggle for full citizenship. To the contrary, there are many differences in their historical struggles and currently blacks and hispanics see themselves engaged in a zero-sum conflict where any gains one group makes must be at a cost to the other. In fact, the message is loud and clear enough that it makes me wonder how much of the current immigration reform is being instigated by African-Americans.
Of course, hispanic occupation in this country existed before America even existed. For a couple hundred years whites were the aliens on the west coast, not the hispanics. There is a reason so much of California is named in Spanish terms. The hispanic people did not suddenly move south of the border after the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed February 2, 1848, ending the Mexican-American War. In fact hispanic residents of what is now western United States were given automatic American citizenship if they so desired. Later, labor for farms and the building of railroads was welcomed, encouraged, even recruited from Mexico. Although many workers returned home after the harvest or the completion of the railroad, even more stayed. They continue to cross the border in search of a job and a better life. Farmers and construction contractors plead with the U.S. government to turn a blind eye to the immigration problem as cheap labor is needed to stay competitive. Many Americans would rather take welfare than the jobs offered to the Chicanos. About every 10 years lately, we've offered amnesty to those already in the country and attempted to stem the flow. All it seems to do is encourage more illegal immigration by those who hope that 10 or 20 years down the road another amnesty will be approved.
Vaca describes the segregation that occured in the American Southwest in the early 1900's, segregation as bad as anything in the South against blacks, and the legal battles that set the stage for tearing down the "separate but equal" doctrine in segregated education. He also describes racial tension with blacks where the black population seems to be saying, "We fought long and hard for a place in society and we're not about to give it up." For example, although blacks make up about 10% of the Los Angeles population, they account for 37% of city and county employees. The numbers are almost exactly reversed for hispanics. And Vaca asks how we can balance this without there being some loss to the black community. He also points out that the hispanic population are not yet politically connected. Many, of course, are not citizens and can therefore not vote. Of those who could vote, registration and actual voting rates are even lower than whites. Vaca claims they do not generally vote as a bloc unless they feel disenfranchised.
Hispanics, even 2nd and 3rd generation American hispanics, have a cultural bond with current hispanic immigrants - both legal and illegal. Recent demonstrations throughout the country have made that clear. They don't have the attitude of "now that I'm here let's pull up the drawbridge and shut the gates". Part of it is political as they are certainly a population to be reckoned with but the other part is a desire to share the American dream. Presumed Alliance is an excellent book to provide a solid background for the current immigration debate as well as dicussions we will certainly be having in the future to cope with the growth of the hispanic American population.
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