Jennifer Lopez, Gina Rodriguez and More Reach out to Latinx Community in Open Letter
“We won’t stop organizing for ourselves, our children, and for the soul of this nation.”
A group of high profile members of the Latinx community, including Jennifer Lopez and Gina Rodriguez, are hitting back against Donald Trump and his controversial immigration policies. In an open letter published Friday in the New York Times and various Spanish-language publications, over 150 figures from across business, entertainment, and activism, addressed those in the Latinx community who might feel threatened by the federal government’s continued persecution of Latinos across America.
“If you are feeling terrified, heartbroken and defeated by the barrage of attacks on our community, you are not alone,” the letter reads.”But, we will not be broken. We will not be silenced. We will continue to denounce any hateful and inhumane treatment of our community. We will demand dignity and justice.”
America Ferrera, Wilmer Valderrama, Zoe Saldana, Salma Hayek Pinault, Eva Longoria, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and the aforementioned Jennifer Lopez were among those who signed the letter.
“The indignities and cruelty we have endured will never change the truth that the contributions we make to this country are invaluable,” the letter continues. “Our humanity must be respected. And, we won’t stop organizing for ourselves, our children, and for the soul of this nation.”
According to Mónica Ramírez, who founded Justice for Migrant Women and Esperanza: The Immigrant Women’s Legal Initiative of the Southern Poverty Law Center, the idea for the letter was sparked after ICE performed immigration raids on Mississippi on August 7. “I just really felt strongly that we needed to speak with one voice to our community in such a difficult moment,” she said.
Ramirez also spoke about how the letter represents the kind of leadership that’s emanating from the Latinx community, and how it could help impact the rest of the country. “We think that it is a symbol of our leadership in the way that we as a community are known for being a loving and open community,” she added. “We believe that this is the kind of leadership that is needed in the country and that we want people to follow.”
Read the letter in full below.
Related: The 2018 Oscars Nominations’ ‘Lack of Latinos’ Called Out By Gina Rodriguez
