In the past decade, conflict between the black and Latino communities has escalated by 46 percent in the Long Beach area, according to Cal State Long Beach’s National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) President Trevon Williams.
The CSULB chapter of the NAACP and the Latino Student Union will host the “Black and Brown Dialogue” tonight to discuss the growing tension between blacks and Latinos in the Long Beach area. These tensions are said to be fueled by the changing ethnic realities in the area.
The two student organizations have teamed up to find solutions to what they feel is a growing problem.
“We are even thinking about going to every high school in Long Beach and talking to them about the solutions to the problems they bring up,” Williams said.
The groups have invited panelists such as Melissa Morgan from the Long Beach Human Dignity Office, Lionel Mandy from the Africana studies department, Lynn Dymally from the business law department, Jose Moreno from the Chicano/Latino Studies department, James Sauceda, director of the Multicultural Center, and Lionel Gonzalez, a counselor from Jordan High School, to aid in the discussion.
The meeting will be from 7 to 9 p.m. on the second-floor ballrooms of the University Student Union.