Building Black, Brown, and White Unity

by Arletha Jowers

May. 12, 2008

On Tuesday April 29th, Guilford College students joined with the Beloved Community Center to initiate a dialogue with African American and Latino community members to discuss our cultural differences and likenesses. The students at Guilford conducted research on how the two groups feel toward each other with the guidance of their team leader, Dr. Sherri Giles. There were about 40 people there, Black, Latino, and White.

The research confirmed what a lot of us already know: that we have very stereotypical views of each other. A lot of the negative views stem from the media, and their tendency to scapegoat and over-generalize. Unfortunately, these negative perspectives are taken to heart by the community, which forces these two groups to be either afraid of or angry with one another. The odd thing about some of the untruths that are being told is that the myths are the same for each group. For example, Latino people thing blacks are lazy and won’t work, vice versa, Blacks think that Latinos are violent and job stealers, vice versa.

Another research question was “Do you think that a conversation is necessary and doable?” Both groups were both negative and positive. Some people thought that it wouldn’t happen, or that it is not necessary, others think that if we’re going to start a dialogue lets not forget white people. This research was definitely fueled with a lot of energy and left you feeling that more of this work is necessary. The understanding of both cultures must be understood and recognized by the other. We look forward to a more in depthful dialogue on how we can forge deeper coalitions of support and solidarity.

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