Latino workers said they stood in solidarity to fight shoulder to shoulder with African Americans because "they are in the same circumstances."
On Tuesday afternoon, a local coalition of civil rights and religious groups led a peaceful vigil in Pasadena on behalf of George Floyd, the man killed by the Minneapolis, Minnesota, police.
Pablo Alvarado, co-executive director of the National Day Laborers Network (NDLON), which helped organize the vigil, said they started with a quarter-mile walk to Pasadena City Hall.
Alvarado said they sympathize with the pain of African-Americans because day laborers constantly have a similar experience every day on the streets.
"They confront the police, they have been besieged by white supremacist groups, they have beaten them, they have robbed them, they have abused them, they have taken them and they have left them in different places," said Alvarado.
Alvarado said that what the African American community achieves by making changes to the police will benefit many, including day laborers.
Those transformations must also reflect the interests of the immigrant community. This is the time to fight shoulder to shoulder with them because we are in the same circumstances. "
The vigil was jointly organized by the Pasadena National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Day Laborers Network (NDLON), the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance (IMA) and the Community Clergy Coalition (CCC).
Alvarado emphasized that leadership in the United States has been a catastrophic failure and is being filled by people who will no longer tolerate state-sanctioned violence, kidnapping and murder.
"We are unequivocally grateful to every person who has actively joined together to protest the murder of George Floyd. They risk their lives and demonstrate in public to protect us and our rights, "said Alvarado.
However, he stressed that he does not in any way support the violence that has occurred in recent days with the protesters carrying out looting.
"We are against looting and any act of violence by anyone," said Alvarado. “There are those who have destroyed the heritage of life that families struggle to do. If we continue to allow the violent to unite, we are not going to get anywhere. ”
Clergy
Shortly before noon, another march was organized by the Conference of Baptist Ministers that began on First Street and San Pedro and reached the Los Angeles City Hall.
The president of the organization, K.W. Tulloss said a group of clergymen from the Los Angeles area joined together to demonstrate solidarity and demand justice for Floyd.
“It is not enough to remain silent. It is the responsibility of the Church to illuminate dark situations, ”said Tulloss. "Now is the time for faith leaders to express our concerns in the spirit of our beliefs."
Other organizations included the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Los Angeles National Action Network, Churches in Action and a variety of local churches and pastors.
/With information from CNS.
