Black/Latino Tensions in Compton

In the 1980s, Compton, California was an African American enclave of the greater Los Angeles area.  Over the last thirty years, immigration has rapidly changed the city’s racial demographics.  And those changes have contributed to tensions.   

The Los Angeles Times reports that a group of parents and students in the Compton Unified Schools filed a class actionl lawsuit against the district, alleging a pattern of abuse and racial profiling of Latinos by school police.In one case, a family alleged that school police targeted a student’s father for arrest and had him deported after he filed a complaint against an officer. In another incident, school officers allegedly beat, pepper-sprayed and used a chokehold on a bystander who was taking video of an arrest and erased videos taken by other students.The complaint also alleged that police used excessive force against students and parents who protested against district policies, including complaining that English as a Second Language programs were underfunded.

The lawsuit seeks $41 million in damages. 

Lack of Latino political representation has become a hot-button issue in Compton. The city and Compton Community College District have both been hit with lawsuits in recent years alleging that they were violating the voting rights of Latinos, and both changed their election rules as a result.

The student body of the Compton Unified School District is nearly 80% Latino, but the school board and most of the school administrators are African American.

For more details about the lawsuit, click here.

Black/Latino tensions have been reported in other parts of the greater Los Angeles area.  Some contend that the tensions are overstated.

KJ