November 3, 2009 2:55 PM
This coming Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of the death of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero, who was killed by a group of teens in Patchogue on Nov. 8, 2008. Lucero's attackers told police that they would routinely go "beaner jumping" -- which meant they would hunt down and assault Latinos. One of the defendants said, "I don't go out doing this very often, maybe once a week."
In addition to a series of video interviews to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Lucero's death, Long Island Wins is sponsoring a "Remember Marcelo" blogging event, where we're calling on bloggers from across the country to write a post about Marcelo on Thursday, November 5, or Friday, November 6.
The two days of blogging will precede a candlelight vigil in Patchogue on Saturday night, which will be organized by Joselo Lucero, Marcelo's younger brother. For more information about the vigil, click here.
The content of the blog entries is up to the individual bloggers, but we ask that each blogger paste the "Remember Marcelo" badge into the post or a sidebar.
Here's the code for the badge. You just have to copy it and paste it into your post:
<a href="http://www.longislandwins.com/blog/in_the_news/remember_marcelo_calling_all_b.php" target="_blank">
<div style="text-align:center;"> <img src="http://liwinsphotos.wordpress.com/files/2009/11/remember_marcelo.png"> </div></a>
Bloggers are encouraged to drop links to their pieces in the comments section on this post, or to email links to thesson@longislandwins.com. We'll be highlighting blog posts Thursday and Friday as we receive them. Please spread the word to anyone else who might be interested.
In conjunction with the "Remember Lucero" blogging event, Long Island Wins is also asking readers (and other bloggers) to show their support for comprehensive immigration reform. Just as in Patchogue, there are undeniable tensions around immigration across the country, and in the worst instances, those tensions turn violent or deadly.
But instead of inflammatory rhetoric, we need real solutions for our broken immigration system. Comprehensive immigration reform isn't the only answer to these harmful attacks, but it's an important step towards bringing immigrants out of the shadows and under the umbrella of the law.
Sign the petition below in support of immigration reform, and do your part to prevent another tragedy like that of Marcelo Lucero. To add the petition widget below to your blog (in a post or sidebar), visit our Change.org petition page and copy the embed code.
Remembering Marcelo Lucero : One Year Later, The List of Hate Crimes Grows Longer http://vivirlatino.com/2009/11/05/remembering-marcelo-lucero-one-year-later-the-list-of-hate-crimes-grows-longer.php
By Maegan "la Mala" Ortiz November 5, 2009 12:22 PM
http://bellacereja224.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/marcelo-lucero-you-are-remembered/
By Sarbelia November 6, 2009 01:13 AM
http://hvccoalition.web.officelive.com/default.aspx
By WHC November 6, 2009 09:46 AM
http://aequitasproject.wordpress.com/
By AP November 6, 2009 02:11 PM
Remembering Marcelo
http://bit.ly/3G4ebC
By anja November 6, 2009 03:41 PM
Anniversary Of Immigrant Hate Crime Stresses Why Immigration Reform Is Urgently Needed. by the National Immigration Forum
http://www.immigrationforum.org/blog/display/anniversary-of-immigrant-hate-crime-stresses-why-immigration-reform-is-urge/
By Katy November 6, 2009 05:44 PM
THERE ARE JUST NO WORDS
By Andrew Malekoff©
http://anjru.blogspot.com/2009/09/there-are-just-no-words.html
Almost a year ago, Marcelo Lucero, an Ecuadorean immigrant, was murdered allegedly by a group of high school boys on a hate-crime spree. Shortly after the murder I was invited to participate as one of six panelists in an online forum sponsored by Newsday.
The panel addressed a number of themes - exposure to prejudice, bigotry and discrimination, the role of the schools and bridging communication gaps. The final theme of the forum was “confronting authority.” This was presented by the editors as follows: “…there are growing suspicions that government institutions have played a major role in perpetuating racial tensions. New allegations that have surfaced since Lucero's death suggest that inadequate attention has been given to patterns of hate-driven violence. Add to that the intensifying trend in law enforcement toward criminalizing and cracking down on illegal immigration. How do community members deal with racism and hate crime when law enforcement and other authorities are seen as complicit in the oppression and violence?”
As I considered this, no prescriptive response came to mind. Instead, a troubling image was jarred loose within me. The image is of a black-and-white photograph that appears on the jacket of a book I read entitled Sons of Mississippi, by Paul Hendrickson. The book is based on that single photograph. It depicts a close-knit gathering of seven Mississippi sheriffs at the University of Mississippi prior to the admission of its first black student James Meredith in 1962. One of the sheriffs is brandishing an axe handle, to the obvious delight of the others. They are anticipating and evidently preparing to participate in the upheaval to come as James Meredith prepares to integrate the University of Mississippi.
Hendrickson’s narrative is culled from interviews, research of documents and literature about the era. Most compelling are his interviews with the sheriffs’ sons and grandsons and with Meredith's son, Joe, regarding their experiences with racism.
Thinking about that photograph makes me wonder about how, 40 years from now, the children of the Long Island law enforcement and other government officials that have, in some cases, turned a blind eye to hate-driven violence or even encouraged it, will look back at the November 9, 2008 murder of Marcelo Lucero. Also how will children and grandchildren of Lucero’s contemporaries view it.
Near the end of the book Hendrickson offers readers one final perspective on the chilling photo of the sheriffs. He quotes the poet and art critic Mark Strand, who reflects on the paintings of Edward Hopper. Strand says, "The shadow of dark hangs over them, making whatever narratives we construct around them seem sentimental and beside the point." This describes precisely how I feel about the murder of Marcelo Lucero as I visualize a photograph taken almost one year ago of seven teen-aged boys from Patchogue, New York in white jumpsuits and handcuffs.
Sometimes there are just no words.
First published in the Anton Newspaper chain on Long Island, New York on September 23, 2009.
By Anjru November 10, 2009 09:26 AM
Katy,
The Lucero murder doesn't justify immigration reform--it calls for reestablishing the death penalty in New York State.
By Rob November 10, 2009 10:08 AM