Trump is targeting Black and Latino people. They could turn politics on its head. | Opinion
A strong combined effort would turn politics and the economy on its head by creating a single voice of people tired of being relegated to society’s second class.
Ray Marcano, a longtime journalist, is the former national president of the Society of Professional Journalists, a two-time Pulitzer juror and a Fulbright fellow. He is a frequent Columbus Dispatch contributor.
There have been several recent efforts across the country protesting President Donald Trump’s policies.
Demonstrators rallied in Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and other cities on Feb. 17, demanding adherence to the Constitution and the rule of law. Now, Black and Latino groups have called for economic boycotts against companies that have tossed away pledges to support diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Sadly, those efforts will continue to fail without a new approach.
Here’s the problem. The NAACP, on its website, keeps a list of companies that have pulled back their DEI efforts and encourages Black people to spend their money with companies “where you’re respected.”
In Atlanta, Black clergy are leading an effort to boycott Target, which has ended some of its diversity initiatives. The Latino Freeze Movement has a “do not shop” list singling out companies that have scaled back diversity initiatives.
These independent efforts lead to a question:
Why aren’t these groups of color coordinating their efforts? Why aren’t they working together? And most importantly:
Who will step up? Who will lead the real change?
Trump’s policies aren’t a Black or Latino issue. They are Black and Latino issues. This administration has made it harder for Haitians in Springfield to use temporary protective status to stay in this country, claiming all undocumented immigrants are “criminals” while welcoming white Afrikaners with open arms.
See the common thread?
If these groups came together, they could exert power that would force the political class to pay attention.
Consider that the Black and Hispanic populations account for more than 30% of the U.S. population, more than 31% of Ohio's population and 37% of Columbus' population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Blacks have an estimated spending power of $2 trillion and Latinos another $3.7 trillion. (The entire economy has roughly $19 trillion in buying power.)
A single, united boycott on one business at a time would make people listen. Historically, civil rights protests resulted in change when groups came together to protest racial inequality. More recently, Anheuser-Busch lost more than $1 billion after consumers protested its Bud Light partnership with a transgender influencer. The company is still trying to win back customers.
Why is unity between Black and Hispanic people a challenge?
Cooperation has historically been a tall order and I’ve seen that in my family.
My mother's side are slave descendants who viewed my father's Hispanic side with apprehension, even though they descended from slaves, too.
Geography turned out to be the only difference. My maternal relatives were bought and sold in South Carolina, and my paternal relatives in the Dominican Republic.
The complex interplay of race and culture and the associated questions — Who's suffered more? Who's more disenfranchised? — play out in several ways.
One study in the American Political Science Review noted that “Americanized” Latinos are more likely to express anti-Black racism.
Another study noted Black people’s prejudicial views of Hispanics, possibly because of the group’s increase in population and spending might.
Can there be real unity between Blacks and Latinos?
One study in the American Political Science Review noted “Americanized” Latinos are more likely to express anti-Black racism. Another study noted Black peoples’ prejudicial views of Hispanics, possibly because of the group’s increase in population and spending might.
But race can also be an important commonality. Darker-skinned Latinos — just like Black people — say they experience more discrimination than their lighter-skin compadres, according to a Pew Research study.
The destruction of DEI, Trump administration attacks and categorizing minimal minority success as anti-white racism should concern both groups.
Like it or not, skin color and the disadvantage that comes with it should be enough to bring the groups together, especially today.
Who will try to blend communities of color during a time the administration would like to see it kept apart? A strong combined effort would turn politics and the economy on its head by creating a single voice of people tired of being relegated to society’s second class.
Who will step up?
If no one does, both groups will be destined to fight individually without the gains that could be made collectively.
Ray Marcano, a longtime journalist, is the former national president of the Society of Professional Journalists, a two-time Pulitzer juror and a Fulbright fellow. He is a frequent Columbus Dispatch contributor.