would love to hear a bit more about the teeth of the coalition between blacks and latinos - 'cause i don't know cali, but i know these coalitions have been fractured in places like new york and chicago (forget about miami)...it will be interesting to see the extent to which something viable can be sustained between these two groups - as it stands the galvanizing of the latino vote under the new mayor may auger better for this party than for a coalition between blacks and latinos -- in fact, it may be that this new mayor is better served by capitalizing on the disaffection with the former mayor in certain quarters, while doling out patronage principally to his latino base...it will be interesting to see how the team is built and the reorganization conducted...
dopamine aside, the competition between culture groups over scarce resources remains fierce, and the uneven preparation of the black community during post-electoral carving sessions is legendary...there is value to the "other side" in divide-and-conquer...that's all it ever is - but the fact remains that black folk have never had a permanent alliance with another ethnic group - and it is hard to distinguish between these other groups based on "degrees of assimilation of white supremacist ideology." it could be argued that the closest we came to a permanent alliance was in Florida/Georgia (Seminole country) in the late 1700's, early 1800's. we are left with reactions to cop firings and fading memories of hook-ups in the 60's...
The voter survey, supervised by Times Poll Director Susan Pinkus, interviewed 3,191 voters as they left precincts across the city. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 2 percentage points overall, and more for smaller voter groups.
Among the survey's more striking findings was its confirmation of Hahn's loss of support among African Americans and Valley voters, the once-sturdy coalition that drove his 2001 triumph over Villaraigosa.
The mayor, whose father, Kenneth, built an African American political base for the family decades ago as a county supervisor, won 80% of the black vote four years ago. But on Tuesday, he captured just 52% of those voters.
Among blacks who supported Villaraigosa, nearly two out of five cited the ouster of Police Chief Bernard C. Parks, an African American, as a main reason for their vote. Also, 59% of the blacks who voted for Parks in the first round of mayoral voting in March shifted to Villaraigosa in the runoff. Parks had endorsed and actively campaigned for Villaraigosa.
Yet the survey found sharp distinctions within the black community. Black voters 45 and older — those most apt to fondly remember the legacy of Hahn's father — strongly favored the mayor over Villaraigosa. Younger blacks leaned heavily toward the challenger.
Also, black men favored Villaraigosa, while black women strongly supported Hahn.
Villaraigosa, who won 48% of the black vote, had campaigned aggressively for African American support. A large group of black leaders who backed Hahn in 2001 — among them former basketball star Magic Johnson, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) and various church pastors — abandoned the mayor this year and vouched for Villaraigosa. An ebullient Johnson helped introduce the winning candidate at his victory party.
"The really interesting and intriguing question is what happens to relations between Latinos and blacks now," Sonenshein said. "Because by no means is this the sign of a full-scale coalition. But it is certainly a bridgehead in what could have been a purely competitive relationship."
In the Valley, as among blacks, Hahn suffered a sharp reversal of fortune. In 2001, the Valley favored Hahn over Villaraigosa, 55% to 45%. The election Tuesday flipped that precisely: The Valley opted for Villaraigosa over Hahn by the same 10-point margin.
A key problem for Hahn, the poll confirmed, was his 2002 campaign to kill the proposed secession of the Valley from the rest of Los Angeles. Nearly three in 10 of the Valley voters who supported Villaraigosa cited secession as a main reason for their vote.
Rapid establishment of food security and stability in the hood is something we could collaborate on with a quickness and realize a rapid material and political return on investment - thinking once again along the lines of the type of practical local organizing and effort we need to busy ourselves with.
Posted by: cnulan at July 13, 2005 06:23 PMHey, I would caution one to seriously look closer than what a weekend of RnR would reveal. The Cubans in Miami look, overwhelmingly, to Spain for their lineage---and, they are open and adamant about it. They are staunchly Republican (from all of the blue Bush signs that litter so many lawns down there) and fervently believe in the Batista-esque priviledge of themselves over the Afro-Cuban and African-American.
Thus, I can not say that I was surprised to learn that when most of the few Afro-Cubans who make it to shore do so, they head straight for the African-American 'hood. And, some of the Afro-Cubans I met couldn't speak a lick of English.
My Spanish over a year's time had improved to where we could somewhat converse. They laughed at the notion of living somewhere like Southwest or even Hialeah because their so-called countrymen were so unfriendly and overtly hostile (read: avowedly racist). Think about it: none of the pro basebal-playing Afro-Cubans have anything clearly discernable going on that is empowering any Afro-Cubans that I could see. I think I only saw one AfroCuban with a little juice and he was simply hosting parties or something at the Hotel Delano, which a lot of Black folk frequent (You know about the Royal Palm).
Think about it: What do the Cubans have to gain by forging any alliances with Black folk? They have a ton of cheap labor from Mexico and other South American countries. Additionally, it is commonly understood to the average citizen there that there are tons of dope money flowing unimpeded into the States.
The Cubans control city government and regularly put the screws to the Black Grove and South Miami. They have a serious anglicization program that phenotypically involves plenty of peroxide and plastic surgery and politically, well, simply see above. I would ask that anyone seriously: what do Cubans have to gain? They are not disaffected. They are not underrepresented. They are not hurting in the least, as they are not shut out of any of the economic, political or social institutions. Because they run away from all things African, AfroCuban (except for Santeria, really just Catholicism) as they gleefully assimilate into the larger society, they do not feel marginalized in the least. Most have no intentions on leaving (Paraiso[paradise], Havana North) Miami, anyway.
Why do you say so? My brother-in-law showed me different when I was there last week for a little RnR. The Cubans are flush with $$$ and political influence and just waiting for Castro to die. Given the sea floor seismology off the Cuban coast, it seems to me that that's an alliance we need to forge by any means necessary.
Today, one of my best connected and most influential friends took me to lunch and we discussed this very issue. This brother stated in no uncertain terms that it is in our best interest to forge these alliances and that the primary sticking point at this juncture is old heads and afrosticrats who are miffed about us becoming the third most populous group in America.
He went on to say that it would be best for black political interests if a lot of the old heads bottle-necking positions of influence and resting on laurels of what they did 30-40 years ago would simply die, since they're not about to move aside and since they're a distraction from the local organizing we need to busy ourselves with.
Of course there's nothing preventing intrepid young head individuals of good faith from crossing the perceived afro-latino political divide errday in their local building and organizing activities.
Posted by: cnulan at July 13, 2005 04:06 PM