Reps. Discuss Hispanic Agenda

Although Hispanics have suffered widespread discrimination in American society, they should not join the Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition, a veteran civil rights activist and a national journalist told about 75 people at an Institute of Politics (IOP) forum yesterday.

Representative John Lewis (D-Ga.) said that Hispanics--like Blacks--are victims of racism, but historical and cultural differences make it difficult for them to be part of the Rainbow Coalition, a predominantly Black organization that promotes equal rights for minorities.

But Lewis said both communities share a common goal to "support leaders with moral vision like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Cesar Chavez," both of whom he worked with during the Civil Rights Movement.

Paul Wieck, a writer for The New Republic, said that the Hispanic community responds to different issues and concerns than the Black community and as a result would not really fit in as part of the Rainbow Coalition. "A major reason [for these differences]...is that the Hispanic community is more in the pattern of a Catholic ethnic group than a minority."

The panel discussion, entitled "Hispanics: Part of the Rainbow Coalition?" was moderated by Rep. Bill Richardson (D-N M.), who began the evening by pointing out that by the year 2010, Hispanics will be the largest minority in the United States, surpassing Blacks.

Comparing the plight of Hispanics with that of Blacks, Raoul Yzaguirre, president of the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group, and currently an IOP fellow, said that the "legacy, history and struggles of Hispanics in this country are largely unknown by the American public...the media simply wasn't focused on the civil rights struggle of the Hispanic community."

Yzaguirre said the perception exists among the Black community that Hispanics represent a threat to their prospects for advancement.

"It may be that we're fighting for the crumbs, but when you're very, very hungry, the crumbs mean a lot to you," he said. "Blacks look at the Hispanic community and say, `Here comes another white group, maybe not as white. They're going up to move up the socioeconomic ladder and we'll be left behind.'"

"There's a strong perception underneath the surface in the Hispanic community that the enemy's face is turning from white to black," Yzaguirre added. "Newsweek calls it the battle of the have-nots."

Representative Edward Towns (D-N.Y.), however, said Hispanics and Blacks have been "working together in New York State since 1977." He stated that he was "confident that as a result of the Black community, the Hispanic community, and of course the white community, New York City will have its first Black mayor."

Towns added that the election of democratic mayoral candidate David N. Dinkins would not only result in the empowerment of Blacks, but also the empowerment of Hispanics.