Latinos Seek Power With Unity Forum : Conference: Activists strive for political gains in post-riot Los Angeles. Organizers hope to bring together diverse elements in the community.

In a rare display of unity, representatives of more than two dozen Latino activist groups and social service organizations will join in a Latino Unity Forum today with the aim of developing a program for political empowerment in post-riot Los Angeles.

Organizers hope that the forum will lead to the creation of a Latino Federation that will unite the divergent elements of a community that includes fourth-generation Mexican-Americans and recently arrived Salvadoran immigrants.

Geraldine Zapata, executive director of the Plaza Community Center in East Los Angeles, said she and other activists began organizing the meeting in the days after the riots, when the Latino community was blamed during the looting that ravaged the city.

“We are the largest population (in the city), but I think we’re ignored,” Zapata said. “The main purpose is to bring us together so that we can have a more proactive voice.”

Among the groups that have agreed to attend today’s forum are the Central American Refugee Center, the Labor-Community Strategy Center, Mothers of East L.A., and the Mexican-American Political Assn. Another 50 groups have agreed to back the effort, Zapata said.

Many activists said an effort to unite the community groups is overdue.

“If the gangs can do it and the Asian-American community, with their different languages and customs, can come together, then why shouldn’t we?” asked organizer Jorge Mancillas, a UCLA medical school professor. “We believe that we can shape the vision that concerns all of Los Angeles.”

To gather support for their effort, organizers have spent the past month in private meetings with representatives of immigrant-rights groups, social service organizations and others, debating the causes of the riots and the response of Latino politicians.

Zapata has concluded that during and immediately after the riots, Latino elected officials failed to grab the spotlight and put forward the community’s concerns. In sharp contrast, African-American leaders were a strong voice in the local and national media.

“The expectation of the voters is that the leadership will come from the politicians, but the common thread in our talks was that our leaders were not there,” Zapata said. “We were looking at the TV and saying: ‘Where is our community? Where are our spokespersons?’ ”

At the forum, the community activists will participate in workshops on education, police misconduct, federal aid distribution for victims of the unrest and voter registration. Dozens of Latino groups work in these areas, but often act independently, unaware of potential alliances and common interests, forum organizers said.

Zapata and others believe that the Latino community has been hurt by factionalism and parochialism among the many groups.

“There are certain common, basic things that we can agree on and there are certain areas that we’re going to disagree on,” Zapata said. “But if (the forum) is carefully put together, it can represent the common interests.”

The activists hope that the Latino Federation will become a high-profile, media-savvy group that can function as an emergency response network when social and political crises hit the community.

“We’re looking for answers. We’re looking for a mechanism by which the community can respond,” Mancillas said.

Besides broad issues of strategy and tactics, organizers hope to address problems that arise during the rebuilding process, including concerns that Latinos may not get their share of the federal and state aid earmarked for business owners who were burned out or looted during the riots.

Many Latino business owners have complained that their loan applications to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Small Business Administration have been denied because important records were burned in the fires, said Gerardo Salazar, an accountant who will speak at the forum.

“The road is very difficult for these people right now,” said Salazar, whose clients include many entrepreneurs victimized by the riots. “We don’t want special treatment, we just want justice.”

There are also fears that Latino community groups could be pitted against one another in a struggle over limited aid resources, said Eddie Farias, of the Northeast Community Clinic in Highland Park.

Eastside activists, meanwhile, are concerned that their community could miss out on valuable urban aid programs, jobs and education opportunities because of the relative calm in their neighborhoods during the rioting.

“Just because we didn’t erupt in East L.A., does that translate into us being ignored or missing out on the funds that are funneling into the communities?” Zapata asked.

The organizers acknowledge that bringing the Latino groups together may be a tall order, but say they are optimistic that the time has come for change.

“I think we’re at a turning point as a community,” Zapata said. “We are ready for something like this.”