"In a Los Angeles Times opinion piece, Kerman Maddox, a board member of the African American Summit on Violence Prevention, wrote: with African-Americans and Latinos headed for a major racial conflict, 'why are Latinos committing violent crimes targeted against African Americans - especially in one neighborhood in the Harbor Gateway area - and why aren't Latino leaders speaking out against them?'
"With police statistics showing increasing hate crimes and racist acts of gang violence in numerous parts of California, the answer to Maddox's question may be quite simple, the majority party in California and many of our Latino political leaders are too worried about global warming, counting calories, opening an immigration office, gay marriage, assisted suicide, offering early release sentencing programs, death penalty moratoriums, linking graduation with voter registration, and the decriminalization of offenses, to deal with this pressing public safety issue.
"As California's Latino leader, Speaker Fabian Nùñez needs to focus his priorities on the important issues facing everyday Californians.
"Speaker Nùñez, what good is it to reduce carbon emissions, open an immigration office, advocate for gay marriage or assisted suicide when many of our poor and working class Californians continue to live in a 'war zone,' where some won't make it to see tomorrow's news headline?"
Hector M. Barajas, Communications Director, California Republican Party
"Latino Leaders' Silence Is Killing Blacks"
"We are headed for a major racial conflict.... Why are Latinos committing violent crimes targeted against African Americans - especially in one neighborhood in the Harbor Gateway area - and why aren't Latino leaders speaking out against them?" (Kerman Maddox- Opinion, "Latino Leaders' Silence Is Killing Blacks," Los Angeles Times, 3/21/07)
- "I suspect that if these hate crimes were being committed by the KKK against Latinos or African Americans, both communities would come together and condemn the violence as racist. Why not now? ... But other political Latino leaders have been silent." (Kerman Maddox- Opinion, "Latino Leaders' Silence Is Killing Blacks," Los Angeles Times, 3/21/07)
"There's Word Out On The Street To Kill Blacks"
"Lately, LAPD Lt. Tom Smart said, officers have seen graffiti in the neighborhoods containing the letters 'NK,' which stands for a derogatory term for blacks and the work 'Killer.' 'There's word out on the streets to kill blacks,' said Smart, who speculated that the message was coming from gang members in prison seeking retaliation for some or perceived slight or injustice endured behind bars." (Amanda Covarrubias and Richard Winton, "From Social Club To Street Gang," Los Angeles Times, 3/21/07)
- "Police officials say Canoga Park Alabama was largely responsible for a 44% rise in gang crime last year in the Valley, where five active gangs claim turf. Citywide, gang crime rose 14%." (Amanda Covarrubias and Richard Winton, "From Social Club To Street Gang," Los Angeles Times, 3/21/07)
14-Year-Old Girl Killed Because She Was Black
Jonathan Fajardo is a member of the Latino gang from Harbor Gateway that has a history of attacking blacks. He is accused of gunning down a 14-year-old girl he did not know just because she was black and, a month later, of helping kill a possible witness, who was stabbed 80 times." (Sam Quinones, "Girl's Accused Killer Straddles A Racial Divide," Los Angeles Times, 3/10/07)
- The Latino gang members were looking for a black person, any black person, to shoot, the police said, and they found one. Cheryl Green, perched near her scooter chatting with friends, was shot dead in a spray of bullets that left several other young people injured." (Randal C. Archibold, "Racial Hate Feeds A Gang War's Senseless Killing," New York Times, 1/17/07)
- "The shooting took place on a block known at a dividing line between Latino and black residents, and police have called the Dec. 15 incident a hate crime.... The city has the nation's worst gang problem, with an estimated 700 gangs claiming more than 40,000 members, according to a recent city-commissioned report. In many communities, experts say, entrenched gang cultures have exacerbated racial conflicts." (Dan Laidman, "Racial Tensions Flair in L.A. After Teen Fatally Shot," San Diego Tribune, 1/28/07)
Community Fears Gang Retaliation For Killing
A 17-year old Venice High student was fatally shot Monday after a fistfight between black and Latino students spilled onto the campus parking lot, police and witnesses said.... Some community activists said their biggest fear was of some sort of gang retaliation for the killing. 'It's almost guaranteed,' said Oscar de la Torre, a community activist who deals with race relations on the Westside." (Amanda Covarrubias and Lynn Doan, "Student Fatally Shot At Venice High," Los Angeles Times, 6/6/06)
Ethnic And Racial Crimes Increase 34%
"Ethnic and racial tension comes to Los Angeles as regularly as the Santa Ana winds. Race-related fights afflict school campuses and jails, and two major riots, in 1965 and 1992, are hardly forgotten.... This month, the authorities reported that crimes in the city motivated by racial, religious or sexual orientation discrimination had increased 34 percent in 2005 over the previous year. Statistics for 2006 have not yet been complied." (Randal C. Archibold, "Racial Hate Feeds A Gang War's Senseless Killing," New York Times, 1/17/07)
Latino Gang Trying To Drive Blacks Out
"Four members of the Avenues, A Latino gang entrenched in one Los Angeles neighborhood, were convicted of federal hate crimes usually tagged on white supremacists. Prosecutors argued the gang was trying to drive blacks out." (Andrew Glazer, "Race-based Gang Violence On Rise?," Daily Breeze, 7/14/06)
Blacks and Latinos Don't Stray From Turf For Fear Of Being Attacked
"Several of the teenagers said they do not go to areas populated by blacks because they are afraid of being jumped by black gang members. Black teenagers living near Bordwell, about a mile south of Patterson Park, also say they don't stray far, especially at night, for fear of being taunted or attacked by Latino gang members." (Lisa O'Neill Hill and David Seaton, "Racial Conflict," Press Enterprise, 7/18/06)
