June 1, 2007
Blacks, Hispanics and the Congressional Black Caucus
LaShawn Barber addresses the papering over of the fault line in the Democrats' base that we have been looking at, most recently in today's Ed Lasky article: the dramatic conflict of interest between blacks and Hispanics over immigration. Drawing on the work of Vanderbilt University law professor Carol Swain, LaShawn highlights the remarkable stance of the Congressional Black Caucus, with its mealy-mouthed rhetoric intended to obscure a reality perfectly understood by the average black American:
...the CBC is forming a black-brown coalition with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to "create a task force to study immigration issues and provide information about the impact of immigration reform on the black and Hispanic communities," according to The Hill.The CBC's lower-income constituents don't need a task force to "provide information" on illegal immigration's "impact" on them. They live it. A national black-brown coalition is nothing more than an excuse to waste even more tax money studying the obvious. And it's all for show, anyway. Hispanics are just as race-conscious as blacks, and they have no interest in forming a meaningful partnership with another racial minority.Speaking of which, one government policy affected by the surge of illegal aliens is race preferences, purportedly put in place to make amends for slavery and Jim Crow. Hispanics are benefiting from this odious policy, and Swain scoffs at historical comparisons between Hispanics and blacks. "Most illegal immigrants have willingly left their homelands to seek their fortunes in a more prosperous nation. They were not brought in chains," she said.
Needless to say, the mainstream media will ignore this split as much as possible. But it is real. However, as long as black voters continue to vote for incumbent black Congressmen purely on the basis of racial solidarity, their interests will not be protected.
Hat tip: Jerry Schmitt