Latino and Black communities protest together
(Photo : Reuters Connect)
Latino and Black communities are protesting together and asking for justice, equality, and end of violence.

The Latinos showed support to the 'Black Lives Matter' Movement recently as the two communities found common ground as victims of police abuse in the past, and the "stop-and-frisk" policy in New York City. 

Latino and Black Communities the Usual Targets of "Stop-and-Frisk" Policy

The Latino community is no stranger to police violence, having experienced brutality in the hands of police in different forms across the country. One well-known policy that makes them the likely victims is the "Stop-and-Frisk" in New York City.

A published report by the Center for Constitutional Rights in 2011 revealed that there were around 350,743 such actions made towards blacks, 223,740 to Latinos, while only 61,805 were towards White Americans in New York City. 

It was also presented in their report that Latinos and Blacks were disproportionately stopped. This simply means that out of around 685,724 who were stopped, 84 percent of whom were coming from the Black and Latino community.

Meanwhile, the latest data of the New York Civil Liberties Union showed that there was a decrease of stop-and-frisk. However, the Latino and Black communities remain to be the target. 13,459 stops were recorded by NYPD, 7,981 were Blacks while 3,869 were from Latinos. 

Latino Community Remembers the Brutal Death of a Latino Man in El Paso, Texas

The police abuse experienced by Latinos and Blacks is not only happening in one city or state but this happens everyday across the country. On Monday, Latinos and Blacks join together in a protest in El Paso, Texas as they shout and call an end of police abuse against the minorities.

In a published report by USA Today in 2015, a Hispanic man named Erik Salas Sanchez was fatally shot and killed. It was found out that Salas Sanchez had a mental disorder issue and was alleged at that time lunging a gun towards a police officer. 

However, the autopsy showed that the mentally ill person did not have a gun and was shoot at the back. The police officer who manslaughter Salas Sanchez was later on acquitted by a grand jury. 

Latino and Black Communities Protest Together

What Latinos and Blacks protesting is not just a simple call, but a demand for justice and equality according to the Latino leaders of Border Network for Human Rights. Fernando Garcia, executive director of the group, said that it is not just Blacks who were murdered but as well as Hispanics. 

He also added: "This system criminalizes all people of color who are poor. That is why it's important to connect."

In addition, Domingo Garcia, National President of League of United Latin American Citizens, is working shoulder to shoulder with the Black Lives Matter movement. He said: "The pain and sheer injustice that black communities experience day in and day out cannot be ignored any longer. It must stop now.

He also outlined the different instances Hispanics were being killed by Police Officers. One of the deaths he recounted was the questionable shooting incident committed by a White American Police Officer to Santos Rodriquez who was 12 years old at that time. 

Today, the two biggest minority groups in the country are now protesting and demanding justice not only for George Floyd but also for all Hispanics and Blacks who were killed by police officers that until now remained questionable. 

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