Will Hispanics be the new overseers?

 

“Diversity is meaningless if the newly minted are clones of the majority.” Dr. BLR

 

Several years ago, I was asked to develop a course on multiculturalism. Luckily, I found a textbook titled Multiculturalism Law Enforcement, written by Robert Shusta, which covered many aspects of the topic. My class is very diverse, and most chapters include a range of racial, religious, cultural, and ethnic groups, ensuring no one is left out. To make the course as engaging as possible, I required students to be honest and set aside their feelings at the door. I reasoned that students needed to feel free to express themselves without fear of consequences. The conversations over the years have surprised me because more effort is required to overcome the prejudices and stereotypes held by all groups. This essay will discuss my thoughts on what students talked about and my impressions. 

At the start of each class, I discuss the demographic shift in the population, which shows that Hispanics will become the majority within a few decades. This is often called “the Browning of America.” I scan the room to see their reactions, since most have never heard of it. I pay special attention to the few white students because they are the ones who will be affected in the future. Topics like race and demographics aren’t usually on the minds of freshmen and sophomores, who are more focused on technology and social media. 

As we go through the chapters, I share my thoughts on racial demographics related to my law enforcement career. I can’t say I was clairvoyant, but I noticed a trend about the employment of Hispanics in the New Jersey State Police and policing overall. So let me be clear: what I am about to discuss is only what I noticed, and I have absolutely no research to support its validity. 

When I started my career, Black state troopers were the largest minority group, followed by Hispanics, women, Asians, and others. Over time, I saw the numbers reverse, and Hispanics soon became the largest minority. I never minded this because I suspected that Black people weren't particularly interested in pursuing law enforcement due to the history of racial discrimination and abuse. However, I had the chance to view many pictures of graduating state police classes, and although I could usually identify Black and Hispanic troopers by their appearance, it soon became clear that the classes seemed to have more white members, even though that wasn’t actually the case. The number of Hispanics continued to grow, but they appeared whiter than their brown Hispanic peers. Since policing has historically struggled to hire minorities, it seems they have found a way to get around the scrutiny by lightening the appearance of Hispanics through hiring more “white passing” state troopers. This way, they can deny any notion that they don’t hire minorities, just not as many Black ones. The pictures tell the truth. 

When I surveyed my classroom, it was filled with both brown and white-passing Hispanics. A deeper look into the topic revealed that brown Hispanics held strong opinions about the white-passing Hispanics, often claiming that they receive “white privilege” within the Hispanic community and more acceptance from the white community. From some responses, it was clear that this was problematic, and we were able to discuss some of those issues. 

Over time, I had the chance to talk with noticeably Black Hispanic students, and they shared a bigger issue within the Hispanic community: anti-Blackness. It's not mainly directed at them but more at Black Americans. So let me pause here for a moment. I will NEVER understand why phenotypically Black people from any culture would deny their African heritage. However, I learned from many immigrant Black and white-passing Hispanic students that what they’ve been told about Black Americans comes from movies, television, social media, and mainly from their parents' warnings, which often said that Black Americans are lazy, violent, and that they should stay away from them at all costs. 

While not all Black Hispanics share the same culture, Black Dominicans are especially complex because they are the ones who vehemently say, “I no Black!” I took the opportunity to explore this with my Black Dominican students and asked them directly, “What is this all about?” I won’t go too deep into these issues because I’m not a historian, but from what I’ve been told, much of the anti-Blackness present in many Dominicans’ hearts and minds comes from their feelings about their Haitian neighbors. I don’t believe this internal issue will ever be fully resolved, but it likely dates back to the Dominican Republic’s former President, Rafael Trujillo (nicknamed “El Jefe”), who ruled for thirty-one years and was assassinated in 1961. During his reign, Trujillo promoted the National Policy of Blanqueamiento, or the “deafricanisation” of the nation. (Ironically, he used makeup to lighten his skin to distance himself from his Haitian ancestry, similar to former baseball player Sammy Sosa, who bleached his skin to look lighter, and who is also of Haitian descent through his maternal grandmother.) Franz Fanon, a noted French philosopher, in his book Black Skin, White Masks, describes this psychological process as “the epidermalization of inferiority.” I have no doubt this remains an unwritten policy followed by many, which continues to exploit prejudice against Haitians and, indirectly, Black Americans. Hopefully, over time, through reading books beyond Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and through honest conversations within their families and communities, they will come to understand the contributions of Black Americans to immigrants as a whole. 

The title of this essay asks, “Will Hispanics be the next overseers?” I came up with this title after watching a video and discussing it with my class. The footage showed Miami Dolphins running back Tyreek Hill being arrested by Miami-Dade Police. At first glance, it appears that Hill was speeding and was pulled over, which seems justified. However, what immediately stood out to me was the strong accents of the police officers, especially after the officers got their feelings hurt because Hill challenged their authority, resulting in Hill being thrown onto the hot, paved roadway and handcuffed. I didn’t want my personal concerns to skew my perception, so I asked my students about their thoughts, and almost without fail, my Black American students voiced that they believed the officers were racist. (Ding, ding, ding!) I thought it was just me, so I felt relieved when they noticed it too.  

So, what am I trying to say? I'll be clear and direct: America is bringing in some Hispanics who carry anti-Black attitudes from their home countries. Some of these individuals will become police officers and carry those biases into their roles, affecting Black Americans. It’s not as controversial as it may seem. Fortunately, social media influencers have spoken openly about this issue, as it has been kept hidden for too long. 

However, the more pressing issue today is the rogue behavior of some Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, who the Trump administration has ordered to arrest and deport as many undocumented immigrants as possible. A large majority of these officers are Hispanic, and they are viewed negatively by Black and Brown Hispanics, who are the main populations being deported. Additionally, in predominantly Hispanic communities, power dynamics are shifting, and the white power structure is beginning to weaken. There might be some truth to the idea that the Hispanic demographic could eventually become the dominant force in law enforcement as well. Only time will tell how this situation unfolds. Given the documented history of policing in the Black community, we know that racism is a political construct, and there’s no doubt that Black Americans will be watching.