August 24, 2014
Latino Community Expresses Solidarity with Ferguson Protestors
Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Afro American Newspaper
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Latino activists have spoken out in support of the ongoing protests in Ferguson, Mo. over the shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer earlier this month. The Latino group Presente.org on Aug. 22 joined in a nationwide day of action on social media centered around the hashtag #HandsUpDontShoot.
The phrase has become a rallying cry for protestors and refers to the contention that Brown was unarmed at the time of his death. “The shooting of Mike Brown represents yet another terrible example of law enforcements’ targeting of African American and Latino communities,” Presente.org Executive Director Arturo Carmona said in a statement. “What’s happening in Ferguson is not just an issue for the African American community, Latinos of all races face daily violence at the hands of heavily militarized police and border patrol.”
According to its website, Presente.org is the nation’s largest Latino online community, and seeks to advance social justice causes for that group through technology, media, and culture. Presente.org is not alone in its show of solidarity; over the past two weeks, several Latino groups and coalitions have spoken in support of the protests. Jose Calderon, president of the Hispanic Federation, said in a statement that Latinos “stand with all who call for a swift, just investigation to determine how another unarmed Black young man was killed by those who are given the solemn responsibility to protect and serve all of us.”