Building a Multiracial and Multiethnic Community in Los Angeles
A Lecture by Edward Chang, Associate Professor and Chair of the Ethnic Studies Department at the University of California at Riverside
Visiting CSU Dominguez Hills to discuss building a multiethnic community in Los Angeles, Edward Chang is considered by some to be one of the foremost interpreters of the 1992 Los Angeles civil unrest and its aftermath. He is the co-author of many books on race/ethnic relations including Ethnic Peace in the American City: Building Community in Los Angeles and Beyond with Jeannette Diaz Veizades; Los Angeles: Struggles Toward Multiethnic Community with Russell Leong and Building Multiethnic Coalitions in Los Angeles with Eui-Young Yu.
"This is a very important issue and something we have to confront, like it or not," Chang declared. Many people do not want to talk about race, he says, because it’s an uncomfortable topic and a sensitive issue.
According to Chang, the Los Angeles Riots of 1992 taught us three very important things.
First of all, it showed the shifting race relations paradigm. Prior to 1992, says Chang, race was seen in black and white. After the riots, there became more of an effort to recognize all races — Latin Americans, Asian Americans and other ethnic groups, reflecting population trends.
Another thing that the riots showed, states Chang, is that a similar occurrence will happen again unless we deal with the issues — social issues, economic issues and race relations.
Chang also believes that we learned from the riots is that there is pervasive negative stereotyping about each other. This is one of the reasons he says that race is so difficult to talk about. He proposed that we, as persons who come from all different backgrounds, must set aside our differences in order to coexist peacefully.
According to Chang, the historical Watts Riot in 1965 was reflective of many race riots in major cities at the time. He identified the factors of a race riot — poverty and a growing gap between the "haves" and "have nots," pervasive racial discrimination and segregation, lack of employment and educational opportunities for minorities and widespread police abuse.
These factors were not too different, he says, from what we saw in the 1992 uprising. "We are not confronting the cause of the problem, so there will be another riot," Chang states.
Looking for a root to the cause of the 1992 uprising, Chang points to the de-industrialization of America. Now, Chang says, even a high school diploma can’t guarantee one will be able to get a job. Many of the service industries in Los Angeles moved out in the 1980s, taking with them opportunities for many African Americans and Latinos to get jobs. The era was also very Republican dominated politically. Military spending increased, while there was a decrease in community spending.
"Where are we going from here?" Chang asked the audience. First, he says, we must start at the local level and work together and develop trust. Also, he says, we have to have resources. There must be partnerships and political ties in both the private and public sectors.
"I believe that mediation and arbitration — the way is it used in America — is not enough," declares Chang. "What we do when we have problems does not work. The mediator must become an advocate for social justice."
He encouraged students to make a commitment to community building. "I know it sounds cliché," Chang said, "but think globally, act locally. It works."
Chang’s visit was sponsored by the Asian Pacific Studies Department, Associated Students, Inc., the MultiCultural Center and The Asian Pacific Studies In America at CSU Dominguez Hills (ASIA@CSUDH) Club.
