Black vs Brown

Gangs have been around for decades, from the Nazi's to the Black Panthers.  The Crips and Bloods and gangs like them will most likely never go away.  A  lot  of  people  refer  to Los Angeles  as  the  "Gang Capital"  of  the world.  Every gang wants to be the "toughest", and will do anything to be regarded  as  so. Usually gangs  fight over  territory  and drugs,  among other  reasons. 

However, what's been going on in southern California, most notably in L.A.  between blacks, and Hispanics, has little to do with simple turf wars. Now  it seems  to be all about  race. Black and Hispanic gangs have been having  this on-going feud with one another for quite some time now. An October 2007 article in Newsweek titled,  "Racial Cleansing", said that a Hispanic gang called "Florencia 13", had been  targeting the East Coast Crips, and in some cases killing innocent black civilians. Murder based  on race. Twenty four  members of the F13 gang were indicted in 2007 for charges stemming from  selling drugs,  to assault, killing black gang members, as well as  innocent African-Americans.  From the prisons, to the streets, to high schools, this race war is coming from many angles.

Demographically,  in  the  last  10-plus  years,  Los  Angeles has seen a major  shift  in  ethnic diversity. According  to a study done  in 1990 by Dowell  Myers,  entitled  "Demographic  and  Housing  Transitions  in  South  Central  Los  Angeles,  "55%  of  South  Central's  population  was  black. Latino's  accounted  for  45%  of that time. In 2000, the percentage  of blacks dropped from 55%, to 39 %, dropping a  total of 16%. While  the  black  population  decreased,  Hispanics increased,  accounting for  58% of the population at that time. 

This  demographic  change  hasn't  set well with many African- Americans.  Blacks  feel  like  Hispanics  have  moved  into  their  neighborhoods and some what taken  over. On the fip side, Hispanics feel  like  blacks  should  accept  the  fact  they are no longer the majority like  they once were in many L.A. cities  such  as  Compton,  South  Central,  and Pasadena, just to name a few.  Sergio  Banda, a  sociology  teacher   at  Fullerton  College  believes  the  shift  in  race  has  affected this war. 

"You've seen major demographic  changes  in  L.A.  Hispanics  are  moving  into what used  to be black  neighborhoods  and  blacks  are  feeling threatened," Banda said.  One could argue that Mexicans are  no  longer  a minority  in California,  but  the majority.  "Both  races  have  negative  feelings  for  each  other,"  he adds. "It's competition now.  It's  not  just  gangs  anymore.  Now  you have races competing for jobs,  and  resources," Banda  said. That's  been a complaint of many African- Americans about Latinos,  that  they  are  taking  all  the  jobs  African- Americans  once held. 

Pride  is  a major  factor  in  this race war. "Both races  are  trying  to  establish  supremacy,"  said  Piaget  Glaspie,  a  24-year-old  resident  of  Delhi,  Calif.  When  asked  if  he  thinks  black  gangs  are  trying  to  hold  on  to power  they may no  longer have,  "Yes. You  have Mexicans moving  into  black  neighborhoods,  and  in  essence  taking  over,  and  you  have  blacks refusing  to  let  that happen,"  Glaspie said.  Blacks may  not  like  the  change  in  demographics  but,  if  you  look  at  history,  one will  see  that  this  is  how the world goes. Every race has  its  time  where  they  dominate  the  population of a particular city.  During the 1930s through '50s cities  and regions like  Compton  and  South  Los Angeles were predominantly white. 

The demographics  changed over  the  years  as  more  blacks  began  to  move  into  those  areas, becoming primarily African- American. Now,  these  cities have had an increase in thei Hispanic population. While this increase shouldn't  be  seen  as  a  threat, to many blacks it is. The tension in this race war is not  just on the streets. It's even reached  L.A. high schools.

In 2005, Thomas  Jefferson  High School  was  shut  down due  to  racial brawls between  black  and  Hispanic students.  Hundreds  of  kids  were  involved,  prompting  the  school  to  have  police  come  in  riot  gear. According  to  the  school  demographics,  Thomas  Jefferson  has  an  estimated  3,900  students.  94% are Hispanic and 7% are black.  Dontio  Wiley,  a  black  female  who was a student at Thomas Jefferson High School said,  "I  don't  care  about  the  police,  but  I'm  scared  of  these Mexicans.  They  come  to  school with weapons."