On Friday morning, a letter to the nation’s Latino community was published in The New York Times, El Nuevo Herald, La Opinión, and El Diario. Signed by over 200 actors, musicians, artists, activists, labor rights and civil rights leaders, the letter “highlights the recent attacks against the Latino community in the United States, including the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas that killed 22 individuals and injured 24 others, the sweeping ICE raids that took 680 individuals into custody in Mississippi, the continued separation of families, and the inhumane living conditions of those detained,” according to a media release.
The letter was penned by America Ferrera, Eva Longoria, Diane Guerrero, Alex Martinez Kondracke, Mónica Ramírez, and Olga Segura. Supporters of the letter include prominent names such as José Andrés, Gloria Calderón Kellett, María Teresa Kumar, Sandra Cisneros, Dolores Huerta, Edward James Olmos, Rosario Dawson, Salma Hayek Pinault, Jennifer Lopez, Diego Luna, Ricky Martin, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Nathalie Molina Niño, Janet Murguía, Rosie Perez, Teresa Romero, Gina Rodriguez, Zoe Saldana, Roselyn Sánchez, Tanya Saracho, Bamby Salcedo, Carmen Perez, Tony Plana, and Wilmer Valderrama.
“Though real pain and fear are sweeping through our communities, we remain powerful,” the letter states. “The indignities and cruelty we have endured will never change the truth that the contributions we make to this country are invaluable. Our humanity must be respected. And, we won’t stop organizing for ourselves, our children, and for the soul of this nation.”
“To our allies who feel our community’s pain, we need you,” the letter continues. “We cannot make change without your voices and action. We call on you to speak out loudly against hate, to contribute your resources to organizations that support our community, and to hold our leaders accountable. We ask you to join us in building a better country where we are all safe and valued.”
The full letter in English is below:
This is the full letter in Spanish:
“As a Latina, my heart breaks with every attack on our dignity, humanity and lives. And as an American, I fear for the future of my country when our culture and policies lack a basic decency and respect for human life,” Ferrera said in the release. “We all have a responsibility to show up in this moment and demand decency for one another and for our country.”
“The Latinx community is known for being loving and welcoming. This letter embodies who we are as a community and the way that we are leading to unite our nation and guide us during these difficult times,” said Ramírez, a former co-host of Latino Rebels Radio. “This message is not about policy or political parties. It is about human decency and care. We are asking people to sign on to love—and it is working. We hope that our allies and other community members will recognize our shared values and join us for the betterment of our entire country.”
“We’re facing a moral crisis in our country, and we chose to use this moment to raise our voices, and speak up,” Longoria added. “Integrity starts with looking in the mirror and this letter calls on everyone, not just our community, to choose humanity and decency over hate and violence.”
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Julio Ricardo Varela is founder and publisher of Latino Rebels, part of Futuro Media. He tweets from @julito77.
