LA Daily News columnist Randy Jurado Ertll feels Latinos and Blacks should band together in order to pursue our common vision of the American dream. Cute! Writes Jurado Ertll:

Some of the issues that African-Americans and Latinos have in common are high unemployment rates, high drop-out rates from public schools, systemic poverty, gang violence, high percentage of prison inmates and the continual discrimination that both communities face.

So why do African-Americans feel fearful of Latin American immigrants, and why do Latinos fear African-Americans?

How can we possibly seek to improve this situation? Maybe we can focus on the things we have in common? Like music, food. The ability to dance. Or… maybe we can form coalitions!:

Much talk has been done about establishing African-American and Latino coalitions. Very few have been achieved, and most have not lasted long. Many times, they are based on electoral politics and self-interest. Also, the elite leadership tends to romanticize coalitions, which do not trickle down into the working-class or middle-class neighborhoods.

Some African-American and Latino leaders have tried to form alliances. A good example is for the immigrant-rights marches. But few African-American leaders and community members participated or embraced this movement.

Oh, that won’t work. Got a Plan B?:

Each community must demand, in unity, that dropout rates need to be reduced, that gang violence must be curtailed, that jobs need to be equally created for both communities, and that hate crimes will not be tolerated or embraced from either community.

African-American and Latinos working together should not be a threat to our society. Both communities simply want to achieve the American dream: to have a decent education; to have a stable job with benefits; to have the ability to buy a house, a car, and to be able to provide food, shelter and clothes for their children. These are not radical ideas or thoughts. These are basic human needs.

Acting won’t work, but talking about acting will. Gotcha. Or maybe, just maybe, in talking about our differences, Blacks and Latinos (black or otherwise) can reach a common conclusion, a common ground which can provide both groups the same lens through which to view this world. That commonality? The fact all our parents are equally super batshit crazy. Take this heartwarming lesson in diversity, courtesy of Overheard in NY:

Black teen: So, what you say your name was?

Hispanic teen: Irving.

Black teen: Irving? How you be Puerto Rican and have a name like ‘Irving’? Hi, my name’s Irving… That’s fucked up.

Hispanic teen: Yeah, Puerto Ricans name their kids some crazy shit.

Latinos, African-Americans must deal with racial tension [LA Daily News]

It’s Still Not Going to Convince the U.S. Government to Make Them a Real State. [Overheard in NY]