Black/Latina/o Tensions in LA (continued)

Following up on a similar L.A. Times op/ed earlier this year (here), Professor Tanya Hernandez (here) authored a commentary “Latino, African-American violence on rise since riots” in the- BY L.A. Daily News. The lead is as follows:

Fifteen years ago on April 29, 1992, widespread civil unrest erupted in Los Angeles, following the not-guilty verdict in the trial of the four white police officers accused of using excessive force in the arrest of a Black motorist named Rodney King. What have we learned about race relations 15 years after the Los Angeles riots? Today Los Angeles is more racially diverse than ever, and certainly one of the most diverse U.S. cities. And yet all is not well. Inter-ethnic violence in today’s Los Angeles is centered upon the targeting of African American residents by Latino street gangs operating with the goal of eradicating African Americans from “Latino” spaces.

I think that this is a one-sided depiction of the conflict.  Nonetheless, the issue, in my estimation, is how such conflict can concretely be addressed.  Los Angeles, my hometown, is not alone. Indeed, after a trip to New Orleans earlier this month, I wrote on this blog (here) about Black/Latina/o immigrant conflict.

KJ