Black
Leader Seeks
Coalition Against Whites
he
man who co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
in 1957 with black leader Martin Luther King Jr. has called
for creation of a national non-white alliance against whites
to achieve political power in the U.S.
In an address to the Georgia Association of Latino Elected
Officials (GAELO) last month, the Rev. Joseph E. Lowery
said yesterday's struggle for civil rights by blacks was
similar to the fight faced by Hispanic immigrants, and that
the two ethnic groups should join forces.
Lowery is chairman of the left-wing Georgia Coalition for
the People's Agenda, and was the keynote speaker celebrating
Hispanic Heritage Month.
Georgia in recent years has been flooded with Hispanic immigrants
mostly from Mexico, and today is regarded by demographers
as having the fastest-growing population of illegal aliens.
Lowery said blacks and Hispanics must work together to develop
a social and political agenda in the interests of both groups.
Lowery said efforts to stem the tide of illegal immigration
would "criminalize" people, and called for "immigration
reform" proposals that aided businesses that want to
hire immigrants.
Lowery's call for a non-white coalition was backed at the
GAELO meeting by Rev. James Orange, who also worked with
Martin Luther King during the black political struggles
of the 1960's. Orange said King sent him to California to
work with left-wing Hispanic labor icon Cesar Chavez.
The theme of non-white racial unity was backed by Hispanic
businessman Ray Ortega.
"What he [Lowery] was saying is that we need to stick
together," he said. "The civil rights movement
in the '60s and '70s and the civil rights movement of the
Hispanics in the 2000s are similar."
Jerry Gonzalez, GAELO's executive director, said his group
has launched efforts to make sure that more Latinos are
registered to vote. That will help the coalition leverage
its forces against the white population. "The Latino
vote will be a force to be reckoned with," he said.
