Luis Ramirez, Shenadoah, and a long way to go

I grew up not far from Shenadoah, so this hits close to home. The fact that people would be so racist and violent towards someone, murder them, then be acquitted, in 2009, is beyond me. This whole situation sickens me. What happened in the first place was bad enough, but to give a huge slap in the face to true justice, which is what happened when these murderers were acquitted, is a whole other. The fact that Luis wasn't a citizen should have no effect on this case. Is that really where we've gotten to? If you're not an American citizen, it's OK for people to murder you in America???? This is the kind of incident that occurs when the vitriol is spewed in the news media about illegal immigrants, painting them all as criminals, instead of what the majority of them are: people trying to survive and feed their family.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Friends,

After they had beaten Luis Ramirez to death, the white teenagers who attacked Luis sent an ominous message to his friends:

Tell your f**king Mexican friends to get the f**k out of Shenandoah or you’ll be f**king laying next to him.[1]

Just over a week ago, two of Ramirez’s killers were acquitted of all serious charges by an all white jury[2], with the jury foreman making it clear that justice for Ramirez had no chance in the town of Shenandoah, PA:

I believe strongly that some of the people on the jury were racist. I believe strongly that some of the people on the jury had their minds made up maybe before the first day of trial…And I believe the four boys that were involved the most are racist. I absolutely do…[3]

Thanks to the hard work of MALDEF and others, the Department of Justice is now looking into Ramirez’ death.[4] But that’s only part of what’s needed. Where are the leaders in the State of Pennsylvania? Why has the governor had nothing to say? His silence is shameful.

Until elected leaders speak up, we can expect more stories like Luis’—not just in Shenandoah, but across the country. Pennsylvania Governor Rendell owes it to the people of his state and to Latinos everywhere to speak out and condemn what’s happened. I've joined Presente.org in demanding that he does. Please click the link below to add your voice and ask your friends and family to do the same. It takes only a moment.

http://presente.org/ref/12004/campaigns/ramirez

If Luis Ramirez’s death were an isolated event it would be outrageous enough. Sadly, it’s part of a growing trend of racially motivated violence against Latinos, particularly in rural communities. According to the FBI, hate crimes against Latinos rose 35% between 2003 and 2006.[5] And as author David Niewert writes, the target of hate crimes goes beyond their immediate victims: “The purpose is to terrorize the target community, to drive them out, eliminate them."[6]

That kind of intimidation only works only if the people who are targeted remain silent, and if officials in positions of power remain unaccountable. That’s why we need to speak out and let folks across the country know we won’t tolerate hate and violence towards our communities. It starts with demanding that the Governor of Pennsylvania make clear that anti-immigrant hate has no place in Pennsylvania. It’s time for him to show leadership now. Join me in calling for Governor Rendell to speak out:

http://presente.org/ref/12004/campaigns/ramirez

Thanks

References

1. http://tinyurl.com/64u2sk

2. http://tinyurl.com/p8gusl

3. http://tinyurl.com/da6mcg

4. http://tinyurl.com/c24jvb

5. http://tinyurl.com/r6ldef

6. http://crooksandliars.com/node/27858/