by Alex Meneses Miyashita
In spite of isolation and some tension among Hispanics, blacks and Asians’ the three groups have mutual concerns, common values and optimistic outlooks, according to a survey and report released Dec. 12 by New America Media in Washington, D.C.
Projecting that racial and ethnic relations will continue to grow stronger, NAM founder Sandy Close urged media leaders of the groups to take leading roles in tackling national nativism and racism issues.
An overwhelming majority of Hispanics (92 percent), blacks (89 percent) and Asians (88 percent), out of 1,105 respondents surveyed by Bendixen Asians—said there is some degree of racial tension among the groups.
“We cannot ignore the fact that this is a serious problem,” pollster Sergio Bendixen said during the capital press conference. “It keeps people and their common interests to work together.”
Author and commentator Richard Rodriguez said, “It’s important not to see this information as static…We are bumping against each other, but we are also getting to know one another.”
The majority of respondents from each of these groups felt their communities were discriminated against, and most Hispanics and Asians credited blacks for leading the battle for civil rights.
Bendixen said leadership from members of these groups will play an essential role to strengthen the ties among these groups.
Cristina López, deputy executive director of the Center for Community Change, said it is time to move beyond acknowledging tensions exist and focus on finding ways to work together more efficiently.
“Sometime the media hypes those tensions more than necessary,” she assessed.
“We should do more’” she added, but defended the work community-based: organizations like the CCC do, stating, “We tend to overlook some of the positive things that are going on.”
Respondents (Hispanics 78 percent, blacks 69 percent and Asians 73 percent) agreed that ethnic media have an important role to play to bring each of these communities closer.
According to observers, mistrust derives from stereotypes these groups hold of one another due to a lack of racial and ethnic interaction.
For example, half of blacks responded Latino immigrants ere taking jobs away from them. Nearly half of Hispanics~ 44 percent, and Asians, 47 percent are “generally afraid” of blacks as they relate them to crime. Nearly half of Hispanics, 46 percent, and 52 percent of blacks responded they felt disrespected by most Asian business owners.
At the same time, the poll found little interaction among the groups. The percentage of respondents who said they went to schools with people from their same race/ethnicity was 70 percent for Hispanics and 64 percent for blacks. Majorities of Hispanics (73 percent), blacks (67 percent) and Asians (58 percent) said most of their friends are of the same race or ethnicity.
In spite of this, the survey found the groups shared similarities in common values and visions of the future.
For example, the survey revealed 64 percent of Hispanics, 83 percent of blacks and 76 percent of Asians prioritize spending “quality time” with family over making “as much money as possible~ at work.
Overall, 61 percent of Hispanics, 66 percent of blacks and 62 percent of Asians predicted racial and ethnic relations will improve in the next 10 years. Hispanic Link.
