Chicago Organizations Bridge Black-Brown Tensions Amid Migrant Crisis

Community efforts promote unity, understanding as migrant influx stirs frustration

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CHICAGO - As Chicago faces the challenges of an influx of Latin American migrants, local organizations are working to foster understanding between the city’s Black and Latino communities. Tensions have been growing as resources stretch thin, but advocates from both groups have initiated discussions aimed at addressing concerns and promoting cooperation.

Richard Wallace, the executive director of Equity and Transformation, is one of the key figures leading efforts to ease tensions. His organization focuses on advocating for Black workers in Chicago, many of whom are grappling with the city’s escalating costs of living, unemployment, and a perceived lack of resources. Wallace connects the struggles faced by migrants today with those endured by his own family during the Great Migration, when his grandfather fled Arkansas for better opportunities in Chicago.

“He didn’t migrate here simply because he wanted to be here,” Wallace said. “He came here because the conditions were better than where he was at. Sometimes people think it’s about choice, and it wasn’t about choice for him, it was about life.”

Wallace understands the frustration many Black residents feel about the allocation of city resources, particularly since the arrival of over 48,000 Latin American asylum seekers in the past two years. “People are angry about the lack of resources in their community. People are angry about joblessness. People are angry about the cost of living skyrocketing,” he said.

The influx of migrants, many of whom are from Venezuela, has highlighted long-standing tensions between Chicago’s Black and Latino populations. Since August 2022, these tensions have received significant attention from local media and social media platforms. However, Wallace believes much of the coverage lacks context, particularly concerning the root causes of the frustration.

In response, Wallace has taken proactive steps. He partnered with Working Family Solidarity, an organization focused on Latino workers and families, to facilitate “Racial Unity Dialogues.” These events aim to foster understanding between the two communities by addressing shared struggles and highlighting commonalities. The dialogues alternate between the predominantly Black neighborhood of East Garfield Park and the mostly Latino neighborhood of Pilsen.

One participant, Melissa Warren, shared how these dialogues changed her perspective. “It was very helpful,” Warren said. “I didn’t know a lot of Hispanics and Latinos [are] actually going through the same thing as African Americans. … I got a better understanding of everybody.”

The migrant crisis in Chicago has been exacerbated by national political dynamics, particularly efforts by Republican leaders, such as Texas Governor Greg Abbott, to send asylum seekers directly to sanctuary cities like Chicago. These migrants, often with little means of support and without work authorization, are being housed in city- and state-run shelters. Currently, over 5,000 migrants are living in 17 shelters across the city, with peak numbers last winter reaching nearly 15,000.

Leone Jose Bicchieri, executive director of Working Family Solidarity, points to rising frustrations from Black residents and even long-time immigrants, who feel that newly arrived migrants are receiving preferential treatment. Bicchieri highlighted that many Black residents are on waitlists for rent assistance and struggle with homelessness, sometimes doubling up with multiple families in one household. Meanwhile, city and state funds are being used to house migrants in shelters.

“A lot of homeless Black people, they can’t stay anywhere,” Bicchieri said. He noted that many are stuck on years-long waitlists for assistance through the Chicago Housing Authority.

While migrant shelters and other emergency services have kept thousands off the streets, many residents are either unaware of these efforts or remain unsympathetic. City Council meetings have become a forum for heated debates, with some residents expressing strong anti-immigrant sentiments.

Bicchieri and Wallace emphasize that migrants should not be blamed for the city’s longstanding issues. Instead, they argue that residents should focus on the historical neglect and lack of investment in Black communities. Wallace believes that by addressing these biases and creating a united front, both Black and Latino communities can work together to advocate for policies that benefit everyone.

“I think that the response needs to be replicated when there’s a mass mobilization for work permits,” Wallace said. He underscored the importance of solidarity between the groups, explaining that cooperation strengthens their collective demands. During a march for reparations that Wallace organized at the Democratic National Convention, several Latino residents joined in support, a sign that unity between the two communities is possible.

“The more our opposition sees us in solidarity about our demands, the more our demands become possible,” Wallace said.

As the 2024 presidential election looms, Bicchieri stresses that it is more important than ever to foster understanding and combat misinformation, particularly false claims spread by political figures. The migrant crisis, he says, is being used as a tool by right-wing groups to divide communities, but the dialogues organized by Equity and Transformation and Working Family Solidarity offer a different path—one of empathy, shared struggles, and cooperation.