The sounds of classic jazz and mariachi almost intertwined at the Adler Planetarium as dozens of Black and Mexican leaders, activists and elected officials gathered one evening last week to kick off the Black-Brown Dialogue, a series of conversations that explored how to unite the two communities in hopes of proposing solutions for issues shared by the Black and Mexican communities in Chicago.
Ambassador Reyna Torres Mendivil, the consul general of Mexico in Chicago, set out to organize the series after the heated tensions between Chicago’s Black and Mexican communities following the Black Lives Matter protests and unrest in summer 2020 after George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis.
The first step, Torres Mendivil said, is to acknowledge that the division between Black and Mexican people has long existed — in Chicago and in Mexico.
“We have far more similarities than we think, we face those similar issues of police brutality and more,” Torres Mendivil said. “At the end of the day, it is much better to recognize each other than to confront one another. We lose power if we stand apart as we fight for equity.”
Beyond working to create unity between the two communities, Torres Mendivil said the purpose of the series was to highlight the similarities between the two and identify the issues and problems that can be solved by working together.
Black and Latino people now make up 60% of the population in Chicago, according to the latest census numbers. Chicago’s Latino population increased by more than 40,000 over the past decade, even as the city’s Black population fell by nearly 10%, according to the latest data.
Torres Mendivil acknowledged the upheaval the population changes has caused in the City Council, where Latino aldermen want to create a new South Side Latino ward at the expense of a predominantly Black ward.
The ambassador said that part of what she hopes the conversation series will spark is analysis of the numbers and what it means to form alliances rather than divisions.
During the three-day event, community stakeholders drafted a potential agenda to address discrimination, lack of access to housing and education, and violence in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods. They also want to examine how COVID-19 exacerbated these issues.
The ambassador said the Mexican Consulate in Chicago is committed to supporting organizations and individuals who are already working on those issues, “but most importantly, we are looking to create partnerships and initiatives in Chicago that are already working in other states with large populations of Latino and Black people.”
The conversations will be transcribed into a document that will serve as a guide for the consulate and other stakeholders, Torres Mendivil said.
One of the most critical conversations during the series addressed police brutality and violence in predominantly Latino and Black communities.
“We must find a way to work closely with police and other law enforcement,” said Torres Mendivil during a conversation revolving around police reform.
By engaging both law enforcement and the community, “we can find ways to create better relationships between the two,” she added.
In a video message played at the opening ceremony, Gov. J.B. Pritzker applauded the consulate and said that “by creative meaningful dialogue around race and racism, you are turning ideas for local anti-racism work into a reality.”
Candace Moore, the city’s chief equity officer, said equity “can’t be a program,” instead it should be reflected in the work that individuals and institutions do regularly.
As part of the series, Mexican chef Carlos Gaytan, owner of Tzuco, and Black chef Lamar Moore of 1111 created a special dinner menu that mixed both cuisines.
Creating spaces where Black and Latino people can come together — such as the dialogues and culturally rich events — are a first step to form proactive and organic relationships, Torres Mendivil said.
In one of the conversations addressing violence in the neighborhoods and the disproportionate presence of Black and Brown people in prisons, the panelists discussed how to provide more resources to ensure that people have access to lawyers and justice.
The series also centered on recognizing young leaders and activists who have been working to address anti-blackness and creating inclusive initiatives.
Bella Bahhs, of Black Ancestors Here Healing Society, said that “it’s going to take a lot more than some clips from politicians,” and she invited people to think “what needs to be destroyed and what needs to be built.”
larodriguez@chicagotribune.com
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