Dealing With Ethnic Tension

Far from being on the road to mutual destruction as your article attempts to portray (“Tension Among Minorities Upsets Old Rules of Politics, front page, Aug. 11), the Latino and black communities in Los Angeles County this year are working together more closely than ever in their continuing struggle for civil rights. We recognize that our common enemy is discrimination and exclusion--in election systems, employment, education and all areas that affect the well-being of our respective groups.

Your reporter did not speak with representatives from either the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund or the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People to verify his source’s claim of disunity between our two groups during a formal “preliminary negotiations” meeting, a meeting which has not ever been held between our two organizations.

We don’t deny that tensions exist within our respective communities, because we know that they do. Fortunately, however, the leadership within the major groups recognize this for what it is, and accept the challenge to develop positive ways to effectively deal with the issues and any friction that might arise.

In Los Angeles County, MALDEF litigated against the Board of Supervisors and worked closely with the NAACP throughout the case to ensure that the voting rights of both Latinos and blacks were protected. In 1990, the NAACP and MALDEF worked together to inform our respective communities of the importance of participating in the decennial census because of the severe historical undercount of Latinos and blacks.

Leaders within the black and Latino communities throughout the county are cooperative partners in protecting and promoting the rights of minorities, and they are willing to work with all of those who believe in justice and equality for all.

ARTURO VARGAS

MALDEF Director of Outreach and Policy

JOSE DE SOSA

NAACP State President

ADRIAN DOVE, Chairman

NAACP Redistricting Committee

Los Angeles