Recent cases of hate-fueled violence against black Americans continue to demonstrate that our country has a long way to go to address and eradicate long-held prejudices and racism embedded in our institutions and culture. This is visible from New York’s Central Park, where a white woman called 911 on a black man who had asked her to leash her dog, to Minneapolis, Minnesota where police forcibly removed a black man named George Floyd from his car and killed him by kneeling on his neck for 8 minutes while he pleaded that he couldn't breathe. These incidents are the direct result of a society steeped in anti-black prejudice, and display an egregious lack of accountability within the police force and broader justice system.
Like a never ending plague that seems to mutate, grow stronger and resist moral inoculation or indignation, racism thrives in America today. It is fanned by a president who embraces white supremacy in his words, deeds and policies. American racism puts children in cages, vilifies Asian Americans as the cause of COVID, dehumanizes immigrants and asylum seekers, and sits silent while COVID decimates Native American communities. Border Angels stands in support of the black community and demands justice for Mr. Floyd. Our mission of humanitarian work embraces all who are victimized and marginalized as 'less American' by the President's rhetoric and by the country’s institutions, institutions which are plagued by the white supremacy that has shaped our nation since its founding. None of us is free until all of us are free. Luis Aragon, Esq. Board President, Border Angels ——- Luis M. Aragon is the President of the Board of Directors of Border Angels and President of the Board of Directors of Teatro Mascara Magica (TMM). Aragon retired from the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office in 2016 after 30 years as a Deputy District Attorney. Aragon was one of America’s first hate crimes prosecutor and helped write California’s anti-hate crime law. His work in civil rights has been highlighted in national publications, including the American Lawyer, Readers Digest and television’s Forensic Files. Aragon created San Diego's Hate Crime task force comprised of community groups, law enforcement and government to fight and prevent hate violence. The task force continues today.
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