BLACK AND BROWN LIVES MATTER: CULTURAL DIFFERENCES BEHIND COMMUNITY ATTITUDES AND RELATIONS WITH POLICE

This LA Times article (link) details how both the Black and Hispanic communities have suffered losses at the hands of police and they try to address how there are cultural and sociological differences between each community’s relationship with and perspectives on law enforcement.

In marketing, historical and cultural context are critical to understanding the consumer. This understanding is the “ cultural edge” we work to provide our clients.

In Mexico and other Latin American countries, the reputation of police is a lot worse than it is here. Historically, corruption has been widespread (though this is changing) and many Latin Americans make light of this with dark humor referencing "la mordida" (literally, "a bite") which is a reference to the small bribe that police officers traditionally demanded to look the other way on minor traffic infractions. The gesture of a cupped hand held out behind the back is a facetious reference to these infamous "mordidas." When people immigrate to this country they learn that this is verboten and that the police are much stricter and "by the books" than in their own countries. Culturally speaking there is less of a historical relationship with the police. Shootings of Latinos by police are thus more likely to be seen in this historical and cultural perspective (from immigrant parents to immigrant children).

The Black community has a much longer relationship in this country with the police going back generations to the days of slavery through the civil rights movement, the drug epidemic of the 90s through to the current day. Different cultural contexts, different dynamics and different impacts. Part of what we do at Cultural Edge is to help clients understand how even topics that may seem similar (police shootings of Blacks and Latinos) have very different cultural underpinnings and therefore must be addressed in different ways.