Latinos pen ‘letter of solidarity’
Actresses America Ferrera and Eva Longoria are leading a group of more than 150 writers, artists and leaders who have written a public “letter of solidarity” to U.S. Latinos after the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, and an immigration raid in Mississippi.
The letter, published Friday in The New York Times and in a handful of Spanish-language newspapers, says the signers stand with U.S. Latinos who may feel “terrified, heartbroken and defeated by the barrage of attacks.”
“We have been smeared by political rhetoric and murdered in violent hate crimes. We have been separated from our families and have watched our children caged,” the letter said. “But, we will not be broken. We will not be silenced.”
Signing the letter were some of the most important Latino figures in entertainment, art, literature and activism, including novelist Sandra Cisneros, Academy Award-winning actress Rita Moreno, civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, singer-actress Jennifer Lopez and Tony Award-winning composer Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Longoria said she and Ferrera got the idea for the letter after they talked and found out they were both depressed and sad after the El Paso shooting.
“Once we started talking to other people, we found out others were feeling the same way,” Longoria said.
Ferrera said Latinos have been subjected to a number of racist attacks recently, but the El Paso shooting and the Mississippi raid were “just soul-crushing” for some.
“We wanted to do something to let people know we aren’t going to lie down and take it,” she said. “We are going to stand up and fight.”