Cubans should follow Puerto Ricans in demanding justice for George Floyd

A coalition of Puerto Rican organizations across Florida have come together to denounce the murder of George Floyd and demand justice, drawing a connection between the systemic racism in U.S. law enforcement and the justice system to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria — during which 2,975 people on the island died and the president literally tossed them paper towels.

More than two dozen groups support the statement that boils down to justice for George is justice for all. This is not just about Minnesota.

Amen.

Coño, I wish the Cuban community in Miami-Dade would do something similar. But, if you’re like Ladra, you encounter a lot of Cuban-Americans who, instead, say that not all cops are bad and that blacks should get over slavery already. I mean, it was sooooo long ago. How ironic, right?

Cuban-Americans are precisely in a position to empathize and understand the pain that that black Americans have been feeling for decades. Their history and experiences in having to leave their country by force, how that is passed from one generation to the other, how that pain and loss continues to shape their lives, is something they share with the black community, whose ancestors were also torn from their country by force, and whose pain and consequences from that has been passed along for generations.

But instead of passing that along for 60 years of generations, black families have passed along their pain for centuries. And while Cuban Americans are arguably free from the grip of their oppressor, blacks still live within the confine of theirs. In fact, the “why don’t they get over slavery already?” excuse falls really flat when you realize that the Cuban Revolution was in 1959 and that Jim Crow laws that mandated and institutionalized segregation existed until 1964 and that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 halted (or, rather, seriously curbed) efforts to keep minorities from voting.

The early exiles know. They were greeted in Miami and Miami Beach with signs that said “No blacks. No Jews. No Cubans,” on rental buildings and were shocked that black people — who sat next to them on the buses in Cuba — had their own sections on buses and in restaurants, and their own water fountains. But it seems they have forgotten that discrimination as they have grown in both economic and political power that has remained elusive for most black Americans.

Ladra does believe most cops are good. I know a lot of them. But that doesn’t excuse the bad ones and the fact that the good ones let them get away with murder. There needs to be more resistance and reform from within the ranks than there is right now. Police departments cannot be clubs. That’s just too much like a gang.

The press release from the Puerto Rican organizations reads:

“The Puerto Rican community of Florida stands in solidarity with the pain of communities around the country at the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota. This act of violence, at the hands of the Minneapolis police, against an unarmed African American citizen, is one of countless unjust arrests and murders that occur in the United States too often. These injustices are the product of systemic racism and white supremacy that exist in police agencies, the judicial system and in so many other sectors of our society.

We have seen how inequality and racism are embedded in the systems we have built to protect us. During the currentpandemic, our families have experienced firsthand a virus that has disproportionately affected African American and Hispanic communities with pre-existing conditions and limited access to health services. Studies have shown that police killings of black men affect the mental health of black communities disproportionately. This is an additional risk factor for the mental health crisis faced by racial minorities in the United States as a result of social determinants of health such as systemic oppression and racism.

We stand with our brothers and sisters who demand justice today because during Hurricane Maria, Puerto Ricans on the island were treated as second-class citizens while thousands of our loved ones died as a result of being marginalized. Many of us who live in Florida, particularly Afro-Puerto Ricans, have been victims of inequality. The anti-black racism that African-American communities survive every day is also felt in Afro-Latin communities. Black Puerto Ricans in the archipelago, and in the diaspora, live at the mercy of a racial scheme that degrades, dehumanizes, and curtails their basic rights to housing, health, education, and employment. The murder of George Floyd and the pattern of black genocide, goes beyond the streets of Minnesota. Therefore, it is necessary to show solidarity and join the anti-racist fight.

Black people are killed and treated as threats just because of the color of their skin. We demand justice for George Floyd and his family, and raise our voices against racism, violence and inequality. #BlackLivesMatter.”

Puerto Rican organizations supporting this public statement:

Boricuas de Corazón Inc.
Catalino Productions
Jangueo Boricua Miami
Vamos 4 Puerto Rico
Our Revolution Puerto Rico
VAMOS Puerto Rico-Comité Diáspora
CrearConSalud, Inc.
Del Ambiente
PROFESA
Iniciativa Acción Puertorriqueña
Alianza for Progress
Power 4 PuertoRico
Puerto Rico Connect
Boricua Vota
Voces Unidas por la Educación
Florida Immigrant Coalition
JF Medina LLC
Vacaciones con Estilo LLC
Sunstate Quality Cleaning LLC
Casa Wepa
The Annual Puerto Rican Summit
Parranda Puerto Rico
Centro Cultural de Puerto Rico en el Sur de la Florida Inc.
LatinoJustice PRLDEF
Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida
Misión Boricua
Hispanic Federation

George Floyd, police brutality, protests, Puerto Rico

Cubans should follow Puerto Ricans in demanding justice for George Floyd added by Ladra on June 2, 2020
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