Integration definitely played a big part in it. I think in many ways we forgot about each other. Keep in mind the government, namely the CIA, did their part in keeping us, blacks and latinos, divided and thus conquered. But also, blacks and latinos really dont, and really have never lived together and shared the same space. We got the the ghetto, they got the barrio. And however, close these to ethnic pockets might be in physical proximity, culturally they are worlds apart. Because of this, when blacks made economic progress in the seventies, we wasn't too worried about our hispanic brothers, cause after all, they had their own shit going on "over there." Conversely, as latinos came up and integrated into American society (fact is hispanics are more integrated in America than Blacks), they didn't consider that their African brothers weren't priveledged enough to make the same inroads. Much in the same way that the early Irish immigrants tried to make black folk the "problem" and divert attention away from themselves, in middle class America, blacks and latinos tried to do the same thing to each other. Shitty part about is, no matter how much we try to deny it (53% of hispanics in the U.S noted their race as White in the last census. Loads of black folk have consistently tried to deny their blackness. If we could some we write down white, or be considered white, many folks be doing the same), we are still viewed in the same light when comes down to it. Furthermore, we face the same problems in our respective neighborhoods. Bringing light to the fact that we have more similiarities than differences would help alot.