A review of American history shows us that the only reason African Americans have attained a bit of what's become the American Dream, is because of the support we received from others - specifically Jews, Native Americans and even large numbers of whites.

Captured and kidnapped, the first Africans that came ashore in Virginia and became slaves existed under very restricted and harsh conditions. Not only weren't slaves allowed to be educated, bear arms or escape, if they were caught doing any of the three, they endured great physical pain and many times, death.

Slaves toiled from sun-up to sundown in all types of weather. Required to be docile, they knew their position in society and remained in it. To keep slaves under control and enslaved; punishment was swift and severe, and they suffered public (in front of other slaves) whippings, amputations and death.

Had it not been for some sympathetic Southern whites and Native Americans, many slaves would not have escaped the institution of slavery. Others that helped runaway slaves included anti-slavery Northerners, most notably the Quakers and white Canadians.

Prior to the Civil War, Native American tribes in the South gave refuge to a number of escaped slaves. The Seminole Indians in Florida and three Louisiana tribes - Chickasaw, Choctaw and Blackfoot - all helped slaves gain freedom and assimilate.

Then, thanks to both whites and former slaves, black Union Soldiers gained freedom, on paper at least, from slavery. From 1865 to the modern Civil Rights era of the early to mid 1960's, opportunities for African American inclusion was painfully slow.

Inclusion picked up speed during the latter part of the 1950's and early 1960's when blacks began marching, demonstrating and demanding their rights.

Once again many white Americans that included large numbers of Jews supported blacks in their attempt to gain equality and opportunities.

Today, Hispanic immigrants, particularly the illegal ones have replaced Native and African Americans at being on the bottom rung of the U.S. opportunities' ladder.
For years, Africans and Native Americans were welcomed to perform low-wage, unskilled or dangerous - think skyscraper building - work.

When Latinos recently marched for equal rights and opportunities, African-American supporters seemed nowhere to be found. The lack of black faces among the marchers reminded me of times when the majority of middle and upper class whites stayed in the background when blacks were marching and demonstrating.

Have today's African Americans, so ambitious to reach the so-called middle and upper-class ranks, forgotten the help they received-

Have blacks become what we used to despise - whites who felt blacks didn't deserve better-

Blacks should be allied with Latinos (and other minorities) to force improvements for all. But instead we appear to be afraid that either ethnicity will be detrimental to the other.

In the 1600's, British, Germans, Irish and Italians, to list a few, united to lead this country.

Now it's time for African Americans to show and give support to, and unite with, Latinos, so they may achieve fairness and equality of America's opportunities.

Nelson Graves writes a weekly column for The News Virginian. He is Western Virginia director of the Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council. E-mail him at .