New Majority.

Surge in Minority Numbers Creates New Tensions Between Groups

THE new Census report confirmed what many population experts have long predicted, that minorities are now the majority in California. Asian and Pacific Islanders make up 12 percent of the state's total, blacks make up 7.5 percent. The biggest leap, however, was in the Latino population. Latinos now make up one out of three Californians.

The spectacular rise in the state's minority numbers instantly fueled intense debate over whether this will further increase tensions between minorities and whites. The more problematic and potentially troubling question is whether the new minority surge in numbers will enhance or give rise to new tensions among minority groups. There are disturbing early warning signs that this could happen.

There is the recent clash between black and Latino inmates at L.A. County jails, the still-smoldering resentment of many Koreans toward blacks over the devastation of Korean-owned grocery stores during the L.A. riots in 1992, and fights between Latino and Armenian students at Glendale and San Fernando Valley high schools. These disturbances forced L.A. city and county officials to scramble to find ways to ease the tensions.

Then there are the persistent reports that Asian, Latino and black apartment owners refuse to rent to other ethnic groups, and that Asian and Latino business owners refuse to hire non-Latino or non-Asian workers.

In Los Angeles County, however, the greatest inter-ethnic friction has been between blacks and Latinos. The hot-button issues of jobs, political representation and education are especially troubling flashpoints of rivalry. Here's why.

* Jobs: Many Latinos in Los Angeles County work at low-paying jobs that offer no health, union or retirement benefits in the restaurant and retail industries. Though there is no evidence that Latinos take jobs away from blacks, the perception among many blacks is that they do. Some white, Asian and Latino employers feed that perception by tacitly admitting they prefer to hire Latinos rather than blacks because they worker harder for less pay.

Despite near record-low unemployment rates in Los Angeles County, and the boom in the state's economy, the unemployment rate for young black males persistently hovers near double-digit figures. This stirs even greater fear among blacks that shrinking economic opportunities will further marginalize the black poor and exacerbate the crime and drug problems in predominantly black and Latino South Central Los Angeles neighborhoods.

* Political representation: When the California state Legislature met in 1996, there were 10 black representatives. Now there are six. At the same time that blacks are jetting backward politically in California state politics, Latinos are barreling ahead. They increased their seats in the Legislature to 24 in 1999 and now hold some of the most visible positions in state government, including the lieutenant governor post.

According to a Field Institute study in May, Latinos comprised the majority of the 1.1 million new registered voters in California in the past decade. Their political clout will continue to rise in the coming years and they will almost certainly win more seats in the Legislature, on the Los Angeles City Council and the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. Blacks fear this will further erode their political power.

* Education: Latinos make up about 70 percent of the students in the Los Angeles Unified School District, blacks about 15 percent. Many blacks worry that school officials will devote less resources, time and attention to the chronic educational needs of black students.

These are the sore spots. But there are ways to heal them. State officials can and must move quickly to equalize the gap in funding between rich and poor school districts. L.A. school officials must ensure that students at L.A. city schools, especially those in predominantly black and Latino areas, have up-to- date texts, computer equipment, properly maintained physical facilities, and competent, well-trained teachers and administrators.

Black and Latino political leaders also can work closely together for more low-cost housing, better health care and police protection, and improved municipal services. These are vital needs that deeply affect both blacks and Latinos.

They must also prod federal and state officials to increase funding for minority businesses, and more job-training programs for unskilled and semiskilled black and Latino workers. They must provide bigger tax breaks and incentives to encourage private industry to relocate and hire workers in economically under-served areas such as Compton, South Central Los Angeles and parts of the San Fernando Valley.

With minorities now the majority in California, they will undergo a painful period of social adjustment. They will find that the struggle for political power and economic advancement will be long and difficult. The daunting challenge is for them to avoid the conflicts that for so many decades marred relations between blacks and whites.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is a radio commentator and the author of "The Crisis in Black and White."