There were 164 Hispanic perpetrators of hate crimes in the county in 1997, compared to 119 white offenders, according to a study by University of Hawaii professor Karen Umemoto. Most of the Hispanic attackers were linked to street gangs. In one small community, Hawaiian Gardens, more than three dozen crimes against blacks were committed between 1995 and 1997. The attackers were reported to be members of a generations-old Hispanic gang. The blue-collar town of about 15,000 is bordered by Long Beach and Lakewood.
Experts say poverty, truancy and drug abuse there are factors that contribute to racial violence.
Maybe we should stop calling them hate crimes and start calling them class crimes or poverty crimes. Tensions arose in the mid-1990s when blacks began to arrive in the mainly Hispanic city. Black teen-agers were roughed up on the way home from school, and several homes were damaged with firebombs. He was chased by at least 10 people and beaten to death with an aluminum baseball bat. Carlos Lucero was convicted of murder last year in connection with Henry's death and sentenced to 16 years to life in prison.