2
.)
ITH
I TO
HI H
C TlO
Tri-cultural
heritage of
Hispanic Americans
(part thre )
third partof�
we presemcd aJ'Ourxl �
Sk>p U ra>unting Us
Africam: The African (Afro
Latioo) O>rnmunity Also Con-
. DOrow."
The following are excerp
from an y by Dr. Angela Jorge
o � Modem Languages Pr0-
gram, S13 UniveISity of New
YolkJO>lle at Old Wcstbwy.
(Dr. Jorge' Y is ore of
twenty four that are mOOed in my
upcoming book titled "Multi-Cul
tura1, � Mimrity o!")
Angela notes that "an
Amerafrohi panic family is
�itmr African, mr �rindian.
oor Spanish; it is all of hse.
LTHOUGH THE
Amerafrohispanic is all of these, it
has been difficult for
Amerafrohispanics to entll1Btisti
cally accept �ir w1iqueDe.$."
At the same time, s� docu
ments that, just as in � African
American community, African
r001s are alive am well in 1m
Latino corrummity.
, Hispanic Americans are a
people whose cultural r001s are
folOl in the Iberian Peninsula, in
� New World AmeriIXiian cul
tures, and in the cultures of the
peoples of West Africa.
This tri-aUtural �ritage sug
gess that the more appropriate
name for these people is
Amerafrohispanics.
To call Amerafrohispanics
HispanicAmericam is Ddeny that
the Amerindian am African roots
of their cultwal �ri13ge are alive
am well am are part of which
makes Amerafrohis� m.�
they are.
EACH OF THE three
peoples that primarily contnbutc:d
to the formation of the
Amerafrohispanic had a culture,
albeit, a culture that may have been
at a different level of development
from the other two groups, but,
nonethe�, a culture.
Each had a language; a way of
rearing�irchildrenamcaringfor
tbeir sick am el�rly; of hunting
am feeding the community; of
worshipping tll:irgodorgods; and
of passirg on their ttaditiom, tbeir
particular world view am par
ticular history to the oro genera
tion.
Because each cultural m>de
rreets the needs of the people that
have come togetll:r am identified
tberrselves as a particular cultural
group� no culture � superior or
inferior to amther. '
The survival of African and
Amerindian cultutal tmi1s in the
New World Spanish speaking
, population and the miscegenation
that took place between the
Africans, the Arrerindians, aI¥1 the
Spaniards suggest that
Amerafrohispanics cannot be '
neatly classified.
The numerous phemtypes in
the Amerafrohispanic community
signals to the observer that each
'family, including the exteooed
family members, is a microcosm
of the tri-cultwal accommodation
thattoo placeatthenmtintirnar.,
most personal level,
HILE THERE ARE
�n-rrohispanics woo maintain
that they are direct desceooe� of
the Spanish conquistadors aI¥1
colonizers, implying that they are
not racially mixed, there are
Amerafrohispanics woo do recog
nize their mixed racial back
ground, but woo find 'tre rigid
white-Black mcial stratification of
fr£Anglo-Americansociety unac
comrmdating and thus avoid any
racial self identification.
While the answer � tre ques
tion, what aml, orQuesoy? eludes
many, two popularly known
adages invariably surface wben a
discussion on race takes place
among�I1O Ricansard Cli>am.
ONE ADAGE, EI que no
tiene de congo, tie� de carabali,
means that the individual woo does
not have Congo ancestors has
C8rabali, or said differently, it
rre.ans that everyone � at least
ore Africa ancestor.
VIEWS OPINIONS
beyond the prejudice d to rely on
e ch other. BI c docto ed
BI ck p tien , rich d poor ali ;
Bl c with legal problems ought
out Attorney J me McGee,
prominent community po espe on
who would I terbe elected the city's
first African-American mayor.
Black folk were ware of "cl
di tinctio "which cu; cro our
community, but the income distance
between the BI ck middle cl d
the poor wa le than two
paychec . Middle cia oclal
tatus was not just tied to one'
income; it w also a reflection of
educational attainment, the character
of one's children, and person'
service to hi or her church and
neighborhood associations.
SOCIAL CLUBS.BAD a role in
group upliftment, working to tutor
Black teenagers on weekends. We
also kne.w without being told that
despite the value of our homes,
automobiles or other personal
property, that anyone of us could be
harassed or called "nigger". Our
core strength wi thin the Black
they lack the education and skills to
obtain decent paying jobs.
I shudder to think how much
worse things might be without the
II
r
ty.
o tyino
can- dean comm . ti
are ection 0 0 income
polarization on mo t Bl
cconting to Bureau,
b in 1967, ut 8S percent of all
Black families earned bet een
$5000 to 50,000 annually,
m ured in inO lion dj 1990
doll .
Forty one percent earned be een
$10,000 to $25,000. In hort, the
number of the extremely poor and
de titute families wa relatively
mall. About 75 percent of all Bl c
families ere headed by married
couples, and the v t m �ority of
Black children gre up in two parent
households.
The CeDS Bureau' ti tics on
the Black family of 1990 ere
trlkingiy different The size of the
Black: orting cl clecliDe4
significantly, and �o pole of
amucnce and ex1Ieme poverty have
grown sharply. For example, by
1990 about twelve percent of all
Black f'amilles earned und $S,OOO.
Vote for.WCCC mill'
om
Con e ely, the BI c upper
ddle cl , peci ly 0 holds
ith both P n employed, becam
f r more ffiuent. The medi n
income of frican-Americ n
famili in· hich both the wife and
husb d ere employed e from
bout $28,700 in 19 7 to over
$40,000 in 1990, an increase of 40
percent
L More n 15 percent of 11 Bl c
familie e rn bove $50,000
annually, and thousan of BI c
ho hoI earn over $100,000 e ch
year. Many of these Bl ck families
moved out of the central cities into
the m tty- hi uburb, and the
ties which linked them to the ghetto'
problemt bro down.
Black empo erment in the
twenty-fint century will require
African-Americans to revive those
llnka c cl and income
boundari , if e have any hope in
destroying the barrier of
ch a all
Dr. Mallllillg Marable is
Professor of Political Scimce and
History at the Unlversity of
Colorado-Boulder. "Alollg the
Color LiM" appe4l'S ill over 250
publicatiolLf, and is broadcast by
more tban 60 radio statiolls
inte17llllionally.
READERS WRITE
As Prosecutor for Wayne County,
I have the responsibility for
prosecuting young men and women
who have one thing in common:
When I'w boy growing up in
D yton, Ohio' African-American
community on th city' west ide, I
w lw Y w re of what
ItBI c n s " me nt. We didn't
experience th ugly oppres ion of
Jim Crow egreg tion, yet we till
confronted les evere form of
di crimination every d y.
BI c were pennitt d to vote,
but ere ilently denied po itio in
the city' go mment and civic
hierarchy, y father went to
literally every bank in the city to
borrow the funds to establish a small
busines --and was denied credit at
every institution. White-owned
boarding hou e on Gettysburg
Avenue, which wa the outer
boundary of the Black west side, had
signs posted in their doors and
window : "No Colored."
Nevertheless, there was also a
deep ense of shared commitment
for group advancement, and a
willingness for individual sacrifice
for the benefit of one's friends and
neighbors, which permeated the,
entire Black community. Denied
full access to the wbite world's
opportunities, people learned to go
" .
. .
By JAMES E. ALSBROOK
A new explosion of nationwide
tension over public school
desegregation may have begun in
Columbus, Ohio.
The 1954 Brown v. Topeka
decision is being' tested there by the
city's school board proposal to
minimize court-mandated busing
and re turn to "neighborhood
schools."
The proposal came from the
office of Dr. John A. Middleton, the
Black superintendent, and his white
administrators. It reviewed old
disagreements, old suspicions and
race-based arguments fanned by the
media.
Several so-called "-town
meetings" to hear citizens' questions
and opinions are scheduled for
October and November. Suspicions
are strong and lines already have
been drawn. '
Educators from various cities
nationwide are watChing
developments to assess possible
changes in their own cities.
SURPRISING REACTIONS
jumped to the fore immediately, for
most white students interviewed
randoml y on television said they
would rather "stay put" and be with
the friends they had developed and
maintain the school loyalties they
had internalized.
Leaders of the predominantly
white teacher's union also oppose
the proj ected change. Their
president said the change would
disrupt effective programs and be
conducive to racial re-segregatlon.
Those favoring the plan for
neighborhood schools argue:
- More students could walk to
school and not ride a bus.
- Parents of students would not
have to get up so early in the morning
to prepare their children for bus rides
somtimes lasting 30 to 45 minutes.
- More Blac teachers probably
ov.3rd
alternatives offered by Wayne For the sake of all Wayne County
County Community College or how citizens, we must pass the Education
much worse things could get if the First proposal.
college is forced to close. WCCC serves a population of all
would be teaching more Black
students and would be positive role
models for these students.
- Black teachers would
understand the Black students better,
communicate with them and their
parents better, and be more effective
than other teachers.
_ Special content on Black
history and Black pride could be
worked into the curriculum, thus
developing more-positive ,feelings
about self in tbc Black student.
_ Some white high school
counselors have tended to steer
white students toward academic or
"brain work" cl es and institutions
of �gher learning while, sending'
Black students to "hands work" or
industrial technology classe ,
ignoring the academic 'ability of
higIHcoring Black students.
- Some, BlackS argue that "a
Black student doe. not have to sit
beSide a white tudent in order to
learn."
� 0
,--fl- HAR.R..I S-#
@/99Z-
'_ "White flight" has reduced
school population byone third.
THOSE OPPOSING 'the
neighborhood schools plan argue:
- The plan is a ploy to
circumvent the Brown v. Topeka
Supreme Court Decision and its
thesis that racially segregated
schools are "inherently unequal."
- Integrated schools made
po ible by court-mandated busing
provide students the experience of
interacting with various youngsters
from various cultures and value
systems, thus providing students
with "real world" training and'
promoting those peaceful and
understanding relationships that are
vital to peace and security in a
"meltmg pot" democracy. Racial
misconceptions and prejudices held
by parents are often modified by the
at choollearning proce .
- Racially segregated schools
wherein Bl CD are concentrated are
Plantor
chool
neig'hborhood II
op n old wound
races and ages. With the reduced
industrial bas� of Soutlleast
Michigan, education is the only hope
of escape for most YOUDg people
from a life of poverty and unfill�
dreams.
YET THE SCHOOL faces a
crisi that could close it. On
r1 �� l. q "!II. yDC
.9>unty 'Y1Jl �,. � to approve I
mJlJage for the schoOf. wccc is the
only community college in the srate
without a dedicated millage, and
with recent state cutbacks, its ,ftry
future is in jeopardy.
Because of recent news ,tori
about FBI agents on the campus, I
feel compelled to set the record
straight When Dr. Rafael Cortada
took over the school two years ago,
he inherited a school that had been
marred by mis-management
Dr. Cortada set up strict financial
guidelines and cleaned house; The
school opened the books to' state
investigating agencies. When
financial improprieties were
uncovered, Dr. Cortada voluntarily
brought those findings to my office
for review.
It is very important to lDlderstand
that the subject matter of tho e
investigations pre-date Dr.
Cortada's administration, and that it
was he who sought review by the
Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.
After concluding that there w
no evidence of state violations, as a
matter of thoroughness, I referred the
materials to the U.S. Attorney'
SHWCCC,A10
easy targets for deliberate ac of
omission (neglecting or falling to do
whatever is done for other schools)
or deliberate acts of commission
(intentionally doing to Black schools
whateveris NOT done to white or
other schools).
- The "false sense of
superiority" the Supreme Court said
white students feel in racially
segregated school and the "false
sense of inferiority" the Court said
Black students feel at raCially
segregated schools would return in
segregated schools and inflict
psychological damage on both races.
- These feelings of white
superiority and Black inferiority
sabotage the best perform.ances of
both groups., '
- Equal educational opportunity ,
exists only when both races have
equal access to the best human aDd
material educational resources in the
community.
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