Latino Diversity
The recent differences that have emerged in the Bell Gardens City Council (Jan. 13-14) reveal the complexity of issues that are facing an increasingly diverse Latino community.
As Latinos are becoming more activated in the electoral arena, they are opposing each other and the question of their political interests and positions on critical issues are coming to the forefront.
In this context, it is not enough to simply elect Latinos on the basis of their ethnicity but it is also important to support them on the basis of what they stand for.
The incidents on the Bell Gardens City Council call for the Latino community to also grapple with the issues of experience, gender, sexism and attitudes toward other ethnic groups.
JOSE CALDERON, Assistant Professor
Sociology and Chicano Studies
Pitzer College, Claremont
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