Sorry for the lapse in posting as well as approving comments;  I’ve been dealing with some family stuff.

I’ve only been a way a few weeks, but look at the craziness!  Scott “Too Creepy for Glenn Beck” Brown is replacing Ted Kennedy?  Toyota is imploding?  The President went “South Side” on the Republicans?  It’s like another world is merging into ours–ok, I’ve been playing too much Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.

I’ll do some in-depth posting soon.  For now, I wanted to note that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles is getting some heat for not recognizing or including African-Americans in city planning and functions.  Specifically, The Southern Christian Leadership Conference called him out for not giving enough attention to Black History Month and for not including African-Americans in major city events.  They also accused him of catering to his base to the detriment of others.  I don’t know if SCLC’s accusations are true, but I do know that Villaraigosa can’t afford to alienate African-Americans.  Their support was decisive in his campaign.  My friend ran for city council against Jessica Hahn (then Mayor Hahn’s sister) in the Harbor Area of LA back when Villaraigosa was running for the first time (he eventually lost after a run-off).  Everyone on the campaign knew that the weak spot for Villaraigosa was the African-American vote.  Hahn had cultivated these voters and had strong name recognition and loyalty among them.  I remember folks from the UFW and ILWU talking about how they were getting creamed in places like Watts were there were many Black voters.  From what others tell me, African-Americans warmed up to Villaragosa eventually and by the next run voted for him in large numbers.

I hope that Villaraigosa isn’t just hooking up the Raza.  That would be a mistake both practically and ethically.  It’s bad enough that Blacks and Latinos already distrust each other in many parts of the country.  Often, they even see each other as competition.  Just yesterday a Chicago resident was telling me how the African-American principal at her child’s school was racist and only allowed African-American cultural events and even favored Black people in general.  While it’s certainly possible that what she said is true, it does not help that many of us already have that attitude even when no actual transgression takes place.

I guess my point is that with all the racial tension and competition among people of color, the last thing we need is for prominent leaders like Villaraigosa to actually disrespect another group.  It would be even worse if he is favoring one group even if it is La Raza.  I hope that SCLC is wrong about him.  I also hope that groups like SCLC will talk about more substantive issues such as education and violence.  Given the piss-poor education that Blacks and Latinos get in place like LA and Chicago, I would think that community organizations might do more than fight about crumbs like Hispanic Heritage Month and Black History Month.  There is a much bigger fight out there.  Only together, do we stand a chance.