Latinos Snub Jackson--Is It Racism?

As the Democratic convention approaches and commentators ponder the political future of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, it is also time for self-examination among Jackson supporters. Among Latinos the fact is that they helped perpetuate the color line of politics by voting against Jackson.

Overall, Michael S. Dukakis won the California Latino vote by an almost 2-to-1 margin. The pattern followed other states of the Southwest like Texas, where Jackson received only 21% of the Latino vote.

The statistics just don’t make sense. Jackson’s name recognition among Latinos far surpassed that of Dukakis from the beginning. His platform mirrored Southwest Latino concerns and demands.

Jackson’s economic-justice program addressed the needs of most Latinos. Latinos are overwhelmingly working-class, and 25% are poor. Jackson actively championed Latino causes in favor of bilingual education and against English-only proposals. He marched with Latino farm workers and defended immigrants when they were used as scapegoats for high unemployment rates. He traveled to Central America to support peace negotiations. His open embrace of the Latino community as an equal ally in the struggle for equal rights was unmatched.

It is difficult to talk about racism in voting patterns, just as it is difficult to talk about racism in U.S. society. And, just as with white voters, it is difficult to convince Latinos that anti-black sentiments may have influenced our vote. Even progressives raise other arguments to explain the Latino vote, like: Dukakis had greater “electability,” Dukakis had a stronger Latino “image” in that he is the son of immigrants and speaks Spanish, Jackson failed to create a strong Latino image and did not aggressively court the Latino vote till late in the game.

But these arguments are not convincing. Can we not conceive that the majority Latino vote against Jackson may have been motivated in part by anti-black sentiments? In Los Angeles, Jackson precinct walkers in the Latino community were sometimes openly confronted with ethnocentric and racist statements like “I am not voting for a black” and, worse, “We can’t let them take over” or “I will only support one of my own.”

This should not be surprising. As victims of prejudice themselves, did Latinos fail to rise to the challenge posed by Jackson’s candidacy? Studies in psychology indicate that the dependency complex of colonized peoples causes people of color here to identify with the whites in power. In some form the color line is internalized within each of us. Living in the same society, blacks are similarly infected with anti-Latino sentiments.

If for no other reason, Jackson deserved Latino support for challenging racial barriers to the election of Latinos and other minorities to the presidency of the United States. This is a key step to the empowerment of all minorities. Those who voted against him helped set back the chances for the election of a Latino President in the near future.

Especially disturbing is the role played by virtually all of the Latino elected officials and Democratic Party leaders. They openly campaigned for Dukakis while privately saying that they fully supported Jackson’s platform. Rather than lead our community to further civil-rights gains, they held it back by embracing the business-as-usual candidate.

What does this mean for the future role of Latinos in electoral politics? After the primary season, analysts were quick to note that for the first time in two decadesa Democratic candidate had won the nomination before the party convention without the black vote. Will the Democrats conclude that they can rely on the Latinos as part of a moderate bloc against a progressive civil-rights platform?

While the majority of Latino voters went with Dukakis, Jackson showed significant gains. In California he increased his 18% showing in 1984 to almost 40% in 1988. This also followed the pattern in Texas, where the Latino vote for Jackson jumped from 9% to 21%.

This offers hope for community and labor activists working for Latino empowerment independent of the party Establishment. It reveals that a significant sector of our community is willing to cross the boundaries of racism and division.

Our challenge is to broaden this base and convert it into an active electorate in the local political arenas as we strive for peace, jobs and justice.