Unity Through Crisis: How a Latino and Lebanese American Coalition Helped Save Democracy in the City of Bell

This white paper explores how a Latino and Lebanese American coalition helped save democracy in the City of Bell, CA, where an atrocious misappropriation of public funds was uncovered in 2010. The paper provides a brief history of Bell, followed by an explanation of its shifting demographic makeup to a majority Latino municipality. In the 1970s, a small group of immigrants from Yaroun, Lebanon, moved to Bell, establishing a Lebanese American community that currently numbers approximately 2,000. In the aftermath of news coverage of outrageously high municipal salaries in the city, the Bell Association to Stop the Abuse (BASTA) forme d with the intention of restoring good governance principles in the city. By holding its meetings at the El Hussein Community Center, a unique coalition of two cultural groups — Latinos who were primarily Christian and Lebanese Americans who were primarily Shi'ite Muslim — worked together to fight corruption. This partnership served as an icebreaker to abolish some stereotypes and begin bring ing unity to this community.