CASA de Maryland and Virginia, an immigrants rights group, denounced the Ferguson, Missouri grand jury decision that decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of African-American teenager Michael Brown.
“An official and public devaluing of black lives is just one of many symptoms of the unfinished business of the civil rights movement that Latinos share with our African-American brothers and sisters. We weep for Michael Brown and recommit to organizing for permanent change in the structures of oppression,” said Gustavo Torres, Executive Director of CASA.
The group was joining protests along with NAACP officials.
Other Latino groups also expressed their opposition to the grand jury results.
“Today, we stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Ferguson in calling for an end to tragedies like this that bleed into black and brown communities across the country," said Voto Latino President and CEO Maria Teresa Kumar, who issued a joint statement with Policy Link and Global Grind.
"We call on our leaders to bridge the trust gap between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Michael’s shooting, the shooting death of 12-year old Tamir Rice in Cleveland this weekend, and the deaths of countless youth of color at the hands of law enforcement cannot be our norm," said the statement.
IN-DEPTH:
What They Saw: Read Ferguson Witness Accounts
