PRESUMED ALLIANCE_THE. (N.Vaca)

As Latino and African Americans increasingly live side by side in large urban centers, as well as in suburban clusters, the idealized concept of a Rainbow Coalition would suggest that these two disenfranchised groups are natural political allies. Indeed, as the number of Latinos has increased dramatically over the last ten years, competition over power and resources between these two groups has led to surprisingly antagonistic and uncooperative interactions. Many African Americans now view Latinos, because of their growth in numbers, as a threat to their social, economic, and political gains.