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Racial Tensions between Blacks & Mexicans in Los Angeles are growing By Alex Alonso for Street Gangs Magazine July 1, 2006 One of Los Angeles' dirty little secrets is the rising tension between Blacks & Mexicans which is a situation that is being swept under the rug by the media, politicians, law enforcement and researchers, but for about 12 years, this has been a growing concern for residents in South LA, the South Bay area and the Westside. This conflict has manifested itself on several levels from the prisons, to high schools, among the gangs and subtly in local politics. The local print & broadcast media has nearly ignored this story completely, with the exception of FOX 11 News who produced a few stories on several murders in Compton between Black and Hispanic gang members back in 2001, but as I see it, each year in Los Angeles, the conflict between Blacks and Browns although small, is growing and the murders are slowly climbing. From the 1940s through the early 1990s in Los Angeles, Hispanic & Black gangs rarely engaged in conflict, exhibiting more solidarity between the two groups. But something changed in the early 1990s, and conflict between Blacks and Hispanics were increasing. There has been much speculation on the root causes to the conflict, ranging from expanding drug markets, gang turf conflict, demographic and population shifts, and the California Prison influence. Conflict between the groups has occurred at several High Schools, including Inglewood, Centennial, Luzinger, Jordan Downs and Hawthorne High Schools. Some of the first gang conflicts occurred in the Venice area of Los Angeles between the Culver City 13 Boys and Venice Shore Line Crips and soon thereafter, the 18th Street gang (Hispanic gang) were warring with the Black P Stones (Black gang). Today there are over a dozen areas in Los Angeles where this conflict is currently active and its tenticles are spreading to other pockets in the region. In Highland Park the Avenues gang since the late 1990s have been actively using aggressive violent tactics to discourage black residents from living in the area. Using pre-1940s lynch mob metality, the Avenues have resorted to murder to send a message to Blacks; get out and don't come back. Just last month, jury selection began for the murders of Christopher Bowser who was gunned down on December 11, 2000 and Kenneth Kurry Wilson, 38, who was also murdered in Highland Park. Several Avenue 43 members have been federally indicted for their role in the murders in Highland Park. On June 30, 2006, several Hispanics were shot and murdered on East 49th Street near Central Ave in South LA. There is a bit more print media coverage of this shooting, but the racial element is always being downplayed, suggesting that the problem between Blacks & Browns is not that serious. In fact Mayor Villaraigosa stated that although the assailants of the murders on 49th Street are Black and the victims are Hispanic, there is nothing to suggest that these crimes were racially motivated. Time will tell to reveal the motive in this recent multiple murder, but there does not appear to be enough vocal outrage about the plight of Black/Brown relations in Los Angeles. Although major conflict between Blacks and Hispanics gangs can be traced back to 1993 in Los Angeles, mainstream media, print and television, had given little attention to this growing problem during the 1990s while I was trying to bring this story to the forefront. Even after the Highland Park murders in 1999, both the Los Angeles Times & Los Angeles Daily News passed up on this story until five years later when the Federal Government charged those involved. Fox 11 News in Los Angeles were the first to call me on this issue back in 2002 when they wanted to do a story on me and suggested one on the on Black / Brown conflict in Compton. The story below aired on April 24, 2002. Post a comment about this topic on our Street Gangs V-blog The Brown / Black conflict predates any serious gang conflict in LA by a few years. As early as 1990, there have been tensions between Mexicans and Blacks at Jordan, Manual, and Inglewood High schools in 1990. In 1999, Inglewood High School cancelled their Black History events and Cinco de Mayo activities to prevent on campus violence. Even in 1990, school officials were downplaying any racial problems at their schools. See video below which aired on May 4, 1990 in Los Angeles. Below are some stories on this conflict in Los Angeles Jamiel Shaw’s gang association made him a target for murder, not race, May 9, 2008, Street Gangs Magazine Racially charged violence puts Monrovia on edge, February 4, 2008, LA Times Cross-racial shootings spark fear in Monrovia, January 31, 2008, LA Times Jamiel Shaw, 17 of Los Angeles High School murdered in Arlington Heights, March 4, 2008 Security on rise after five shootings in Monrovia, Nov 19, 2007, Pasadena Star News Racial 'Cleansing' in L.A., October 24, 2007, Newsweek Magazine Black-Latino crime wave in L.A. unlikely, study finds, Sept 22, 2007 War of a Different Color, Mar 8, 2007, City Beat 5 charged in death of potential witness to Harbor Gateway teen's slaying, Feb 23, 2007, Daily Breeze Horror Gateway, The hate crime that killed Cheryl Green may be part of a larger campaign, orchestrated out of the prisons, Feb 1, 2007, City Beat Racial attacks by gangs rising, L.A. officials fear, Jan 21, 2007, LA Times Roots of Latino/black anger Longtime prejudices, not economic rivalry, fuel tensions., Jan 7, 2007, LA Times Moving to unite blacks and Latinos in a neighborhood plagued by fear, Jan 7, 2007, LA Times Suspect is arrested in killing of girl, 14 A Latino gang member is the second man held in a black teen's death, Jan 6, 2007 Suspect held in hate crime slaying of girl, 14, Dec 23, 2006 Race relations main focus at 'Black/Brown Divide' discussion at CSUN, Oct 10, 2006, CSUN Daily Sundial 4 Los Angeles Latino Gang Members Convicted of Anti-Black Conspiracy, August 2, 2006, LA Times Blacks Were Targeted, Witness Insists, July 5, 2006, LA Times Triple Killing Leaves Few Clues, July 4, 2006, LA Times Gang Accused of Conspiring to Kill Blacks, July 4, 2006 LA Times, [ first LA Times article on the topic] Black Versus Brown Can the venerable black-Latino coalition survive the surge in Hispanic power? , July 3, 2006 - Newsweek [ first mainstream article on the topic since USA Today article of 1999] Jury Selection began for Highland Park Murders, June 21, 2006, City New Service Fifth Gang Member Indicted in Highland Park 'Hate Crime' Murders, November 17, 2005, BC Cycle Store Shooting Brings More Calls For Black-Brown Unity, Oct 6, 2005, Wave Newspapers How Highland Park’s Latino gang (The Avenues) targets African-Americans, July 15, 2005, LA Weekly My Side of the Racial Divide Part 2, July 1, 2005, Street Gangs Magazine My Side of the Racial: Race Relations and Politics Among Blacks and Mexicans inside Los Angeles, June 7, 2005, Street Gangs Magazine Hispanic LA gang members accused of killing black man, August 20, 2004, City News Service It's time to rewrite Black History Month, Feb 19, 2002, The Globe and Mail Hispanics, blacks find futures entangled Immigration, Sept 10, 1999, USA Today Venice's Oakwood District: 'Los Angeles at its Worst', January 27, 1994, Los Angeles Sentinel News Topics | Home | Research | History | Blood Gangs | Crip Gangs | People| Life in a Gang | Gallery | Iraqi Cards | Memorial | Migration | Graffiti | Resume| Injunctions Homicides | Maps | Contact

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