The resignation of Nury Martínez to the presidency of the Los Angeles Council is not enough. The Oaxacan, indigenous, Afro-American communities and religious leaders want her and councilors Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León to resign, to permanently leave their public positions, as does Ron Herrera, president of the Los Angeles County Workers Federation. Angels.
“What we want?” shouted Odilia Romero, executive director of the organization Indigenous Communities in Leadership (CIELO), to the dozens of protesters gathered on the steps of the south side of the Los Angeles City Hall.
“Everyone!” was the response from the crowd.
United in one voice, Afro-Americans, Latinos, Oaxacans and religious leaders demand the resignation of Nury Martínez, Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo in the council.
They were referring to the three Latino politicians who are in the eye of the hurricane unleashed by the leak of audios where racist comments were made against the African-American son adopted by Councilman Mike Bonin, whom Martínez calls “chang**ito.”
The concilor Bonin and her partner Sean Arian they also joined the list of numerous voices calling for the resignation of Latino politicians, after reacting “horrified, angry and disgusted, by the vile, abhorrent and completely disgraceful racist comments” of Latino politicians.
Martinez, who remains a city councilman, also referred to Oaxacans as “ugly,” “short,” and “dark-skinned.”
The meeting the three held in October 2021 with Ron Herrera on redistricting has had national repercussions.
NALEO and Newsom
The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), called for the resignation of Nury Martínez from her position and from leadership in the city for her “racist and insensitive” comments.
“What we heard this weekend was appalling, heartbreaking and simply unacceptable. There is no place for racist language and incendiary rhetoric of hate to coexist with the duties of serving in public office”, indicates the reaction of NALEO, in a statement.
“Words matter and we cannot turn a blind eye to homophobic anti-Black sentiments. The time for unity is now and we stand ready to work with our brothers and sisters across the community to move the city of Los Angeles forward.”
Governor Gavin Newsom did not call for the resignation of the three officials, but she did declare that “words matter and racist language can do a lot of damage.
While expressing that racist comments have no place in California or in state politics. “I am heartened that those involved in this have apologized and started taking responsibility for their actions.”
‘They incite discrimination and hatred’
Odilia Romero: President of CIELO, she urged Mayor Eric Garcetti to denounce racism against blacks and indigenous people.
“Nury Martínez’s racist comments did not surprise me, because it is what we at CIELO fight against every day; We see it in hospitals, schools, and prisons, locally and nationally,” the activist emphasized. “This is what we live daily; That is why we fight against linguistic violence and we say that we live in a high intensity war”.
Romero considered that the comments made at that meeting “only ratify why we have denounced that Latinity represents a psychological way that threatens our freedom and takes lives in schools, hospitals and prisons.”
“Latinity is deadly. It is linguistic violence against us. It is the handling of a language of war in which we all lose. Who wants to be ugly? Who wants to be short? Who wants to be an Indian?” she added. “It is about fighting for our death or freedom, because they incite the people to discrimination and hatred and they must resign immediately.”
A group of civil and religious rights leaders from Los Angeles joined in denouncing racism and the request for the resignation of their municipal positions of Martínez, De León and Cedillo, who did not respond about the community’s demand for them to resign. leave the council
“Tense race relations”
“His statements have caused a lot of trauma,” said the Rev. KWTulloss, president of the Conference of Baptist Ministers of Southern California, who considered that race relations in the Los Angeles city “are very tense.”
“There is no place anywhere where someone who is a leader describes a child as chang**to,” Najee Ali, president of the Islamic Project HOPE, told.
“It was racist and inexcusable what [Nury] Martinez said. She must go, because she represents the entire council and what she did was hurtful, it hurt many across the city who have suffered the trauma of racism.”
The civil rights leader specified that, apart from Nury Martínez, Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León should also leave the City Hall “because they made a serious mistake, because they were at that meeting and condoned the insensitive and racist comments.”
Half apologies
“I am really embarrassed. I know this is the result of my own actions,” said Martinez, who issued a public apology to the African-American community.
In her apology, however, she does not mention a single word for the Oaxacan community that she also insulted.
“I want to start by apologizing. While I did not participate in the conversation in question, I was present on occasion during this meeting last year. It is my instinct to hold others accountable when they use derogatory or racially divisive language,” Cedillo explained to the newspaper.
“Clearly, I should have intervened. I failed to keep myself and others at the highest level. The hurtful and damaging comments that were made about my colleague’s son [Mike Bonin] They were simply unacceptable. We choose public life, but our families should always be off limits and never part of political discourse.”
However, Cedillo also did not offer an apology to the immigrant community and avoided answering if she will resign her position, or if she was ready to do so.
Meanwhile, Ron Herrera has remained silent and Kevin de León’s office has so far neither confirmed nor denied whether or not she will resign from her Los Angeles City Council seat.
Let them go!
United in one voice, Afro-Americans, Latinos, Oaxacans and religious leaders demand the resignation of Nury Martínez, Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo in the council.
“It gives me a lot of pain for them; for our people, but in a moment we have already lost four of our leaders.”
Angélica Salas, executive director of CHIRLA.
“Everyone has to resign. If you look at their way of thinking, their attitudes and their positions, they have shown anti-blackness in its worst form.
Greg Akili, Black Lives Matter member.
“To begin the healing process, the first thing is that she [Nury Martinez] it has to go altogether; she lost all the capacity of her to be the leader of the body, political of Los Angeles”.
Gaspar Rivera, Oaxacan professor at UCLA.
“They incite the people to discrimination and hatred and they must resign immediately.”
Odilia Romero, executive director of CIELO.
“In Los Angeles we will not tolerate discrimination and hate.”
Fidel Gómez, Oaxacan Zapotec from the Valley.
“The action of these individuals not only harms their political ambitions, but also harms the entire Latino community.”
Juan José Gutiérrez, Los Angeles activist.