After the tragic mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Gilroy, California, that counted several Latinos as victims, and the savage raids in Mississippi that tore families apart, more than 150 actors, writers, and artists of Latin descent have united to sign a petition of solidarity to give hope to the community.
The New York Times published the letter, along with several Spanish-language newspapers. The paper credited actresses America Ferrera and Eva Longoria, two well-known Latino advocates, with pioneering the strongly worded letter.
According to the Times, Longoria said that “the letter is not meant to take political sides but reach out to Americans regardless of party to say Latinos are hurting.”
Both actresses took to their Instagram accounts to post the letter, with Ferrera posting a video saying thank you to all those who signed and wrote the letter, which is dedicated “to our Latino family, to our Querida Familia Latina.”
“It’s an act of love for our community that is feeling real fear and pain in these dark times,” she continued, while adding how the letter is also meant for allies of the Latino community, saying, “it is also a call to action to all of our allies who feel our pain and who are concerned with the inhumane treatment of human beings that is going on in this country.”
The letter addresses the recent mass shootings, saying, “We Latinos have been smeared by political rhetoric and murdered in violent hate crimes…We will not be broken. We will not be silenced…We demand dignity and justice.”
Many people have attributed the recent attacks on Latinos to Donald Trump’s hateful rhetoric, which has included him calling Mexicans “rapists” and frequently referring to an “invasion” of immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Other notable Latino signatures include multi-hyphenate superstar Jennifer Lopez; Oscar-winner Rita Moreno; civil rights activists and co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association Dolores Huerta; and Tony-winner Lin-Manuel Miranda.
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