Hispanic and Latino Americans

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Erick Gelhaus, deputy who shot 13 year old Andy Lopez, returning to patrol

 

Sonoma County Sheriff’s Deputy Erick Gelhaus will return to patrolling the streets next week, nearly 10 months after he shot and killed 13-year-old Andy Lopez, sparking protests that revealed deep distrust of law enforcement among some residents, especially those in the Latino community.

The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office in July cleared Gelhaus of any criminal wrongdoing for his actions in the fatal Oct. 22 shooting, which ignited an emotional debate about officers’ use of deadly force and the dangers of toy guns made to look like real firearms.

Lopez was shot while walking down a residential street on Santa Rosa’s southwest outskirts carrying an airsoft BB gun made to resemble an AK-47 assault rifle. Gelhaus told investigators he ordered the boy to drop the gun, then opened fire when Lopez turned toward the deputy, partially raising the barrel of the gun.

Gelhaus did not return a call seeking comment about his return to patrol duties. His attorney Terry Leoni said in an email that the veteran deputy welcomed “this assignment, and knows his nearly 25-years in law enforcement will continue to benefit the community.”

“He will continue to proudly serve the people of Sonoma County, as he has always done,” Leoni said.

Gelhaus, a firearms instructor in the Sheriff’s Office, has been back at work since December, largely in administrative assignments within the department. His return to patrol, including a wide range of duties interacting with the public, marks another potent moment in what has been a painful and tumultuous chapter in Sonoma County history.

For those who have continued to protest the deputy’s actions, news of Gelhaus’ return to patrol was met with surprise and a sense that their concerns had gone unheard.


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Source: www.pressdemocrat.com

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Sheets of Blood Streets of Pain

 

“Racism is not dead in this nation. Shame on any of us for trying to bury the inherent and blatant racism of the United States and its people, it has always been part of our makeup and it has come roaring back in its full and awful glory in the past decade…”

 

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Source: valentinelogar.com

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Torn Apart: Immigration and the American Family

 

We are a compassionate nation. We look back with sadness and horror at parents and children separated in centuries past, and then turn our heads when it happens in our day. The separation of parents and children is not confined to history.

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American history is replete with stories of parents and children forever separated. Slaves were sold as individuals and families were wrenched apart to suit their owner’s needs. The tide of 19th century European immigration brought children to America on their own or parents without their kids hoping that family members would one day follow.

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Immigration is surely a political issue, but it is also a parenting and family issue. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, approximately 17 million people live in families with an undocumented family member. About 4.5 million children who were born in the US have at least one undocumented parent.

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Academics from Harvard and NYU wrote in the New York Times, “The extraordinary acceleration in the dismantling of these families, part of the government’s efforts to meet an annual quota of about 400,000 deportations, has had devastating results. Having a parent ripped away permanently, without warning, is one of the most devastating and traumatic experiences in human development.”

 

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

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The death penalty dramatized – Los Rakas – Sueño Americano – YouTube

 

Music video by Los Rakas performing Sueño Americano. (C) 2014 Universal Music Latino

Source: www.youtube.com

 

The death penalty. Murder for murder. Barbaric. 

 

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Why Are There No Black Men on Argentina’s Roster?

 

There are no black players on Argentina’s roster. Actually, there are hardly any black people left in Argentina period.

In colonial times, the proportion of Africans hovered around 50 per cent in half of Argentina’s provinces. General José de San Martín, the revolutionary who lead the charge to gain independence from Spanish rule, estimated that there were 400,000 Afro-Argentines who could be recruited to his armies. Black men made up 65 per cent of his troops.

 

Click through to read more.

 

Source: www.huffingtonpost.ca

 

This article reminds me of what Germany did to Jews; of what the U.S. did to Native Americans; and of what the U.S. continues to do to Black and Brown people in the U.S.

#Genocide

 

In 2010 Native American’s made up about 1% of the U.S. population. They used to make up 100% before Europeans arrived.

 

Black and Brown people are targeted in the U.S. by Mass Incarceration, the War on Drugs, New Jim Crow, and Planned Parenthood Centers.

 

Planned Parenthood Centers are opened in Black and Brown communities to offer free birth control and abortions.

 

#PopulationControl

When the War on Drugs removes Black and Brown people from the community, that eliminates their ability to procreate while they are incarcerated. When they are released, they have a felony conviction and can’t get a decent job to support raising a family.

 

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Anger over another killing of Latino by Salinas police

See on Scoop.it – Community Village Daily

 

“Police in Salinas shot and killed a suspect armed with gardening shears Tuesday, but some residents who viewed a video of the deadly run-in on the Internet say the officers went too far.”

 

 

Community Village‘s insight:

 

This was the second shooting of a Latino by Salinas police in less than two weeks.

See on blog.sfgate.com

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To Save Mom, Daughter Goes On Hunger Strike Outside The White House

Cynthia Diaz is one of three immigration activists on a hunger strike outside the White House demanding the U.S. to release their family members from immigration detention

See on video.latino.foxnews.com