Kamala Harris' message to immigrants: "We as a nation are better than this"

I, for one, am thrilled about the Biden-Harris ticket. Among other things, she has been strongly opposed to the atrocities against children and families on the U.S.-Mexico border. Our government has brought such pain and suffering to untold numbers people, perhaps especially children who have been traumatized by our reactionary response to their presence along the U.S.-Mexico border.  

This is a community that has had to endure great distress, misery, and affliction, that is fleeing violence in their countries back home in hopes of a sanctuary, a safe haven, in the U.S. for which U.S. policy—nothwithstanding our toxic, political landscape under Trump—has been amenable. Accordintly, please see my earlier blog post titled, "Why is El Salvador so dangerous? 4 essential reads," by Beth Daley," on why this violence exists in the first place, including how the U.S. government and its punitive policies created the very situation we have been witnessing.

I very much hope that a Biden-Harris presidency not only addresses asylum policies that consist of laws that Trump has thwarted through administrative changes, but works with its countries to the south with whom our fates are inextricably linked.

-Angela Valenzuela

Giffords and the Latino Victory Project to Tour Texas to draw attention Hate-Fueled Gun Violence

Hello, 

The shooting in El Paso, Texas and it’s direct targeting of the Latino community shocked the nation. In a concerted effort to push back against incidents of terror like it, Giffords is joining with Latino Victory Project and other local partners to tour Texas and draw attention to the harm hate-fueled gun violence causes.

Below is the press release for the tour, and we will continue to release details about the stops in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio as they become available.

If you have questions or are interested in speaking with Giffords about the tour, please reach out.

Thanks,

Jason Phelps 

jphelps@Giffords.org

  

       

Giffords and Latino Victory Project Announce ¡YA BASTA! Latinos Rise Against Gun Violence and Hate -- a Multi-Stop Texas Tour

Washington D.C. -- Today, Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence and the Latino Victory Project launched ¡YA BASTA! Latinos Rise Against Gun Violence and Hate -- a tour with stops in El Paso, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio -- to raise awareness in the Latino community about the growing threats of gun violence and the white supremacist-based anti-Latino movement. 

The new partnership and tour come in response to the deadliest white-supremacy motivated terrorist attack against Latinos in recent American history. The El Paso town hall will be streamed live via NoticiasTelemundo.com and Noticias Telemundo’s YouTube, Facebook and Twitter pages as part of its recently-launched campaign #LatinoStrong, Unidos Contra el Odio.

Gun violence survivor and founder of Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence, Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, alongside Latino Victory Project Executive Director Mayra Macías, will kick off the tour with a town hall in El Paso, Texas, on August 22. Speakers participating in the town hall will also include: Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Texas State Representative Cesar J. Blanco, Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence Executive Director Peter Ambler and Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Executive Vice President of Field and Member Services Vanessa Gonzalez. 

"Easy gun access and hate are fueling deadly violence against Latinos in America," said Peter Ambler, Giffords Executive Director. "Texas is vibrant because of communities like El Paso, places of optimism, hope, and people from all different backgrounds united in working toward a stronger country. We are proud to partner in this effort to stand up against the forces of fanaticism and terror. This is a moment for us to come together, share our stories, and stand united in our call for leaders to enact laws that will protect us from hate and gun violence."   

“Our nation just witnessed the largest act of terror against the Latino community in modern American history, where a white supremacist took the lives of 22 innocent people in El Paso, Texas,” said Mayra Macías, Latino Victory Executive Director. “Now more than ever, we need to have an honest and transparent conversation about two of the most pressing issues affecting our country: the gun violence epidemic and the rise of the white-supremacy and anti-Latino movements. We are grateful to partner with Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence as we embark on the “¡YA BASTA! Latinos Rise Against Gun Violence and Hate”.  We thank Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords for her tenacity and commitment to make every community in America safe and for joining us in saying: ¡ya basta!” 

“White supremacy kills. It is killing our Latinx community members, our immigrants, our religious minorities, and other marginalized groups. We have seen throughout our country’s history what a system built on white supremacy does, from slavery to Japanese internment camps. Trump’s hateful rhetoric and policies, combined with the absence of common-sense gun safety laws has contributed to the rise in hate-based killings. That is fact, not speculation. Now, more than ever, we must remain united together in the fight to end white supremacy in all its forms,” said Vanessa Gonzalez, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Executive Vice President. The LCCR Education Fund’s Communities Against Hate initiative is a ¡YA BASTA! Latinos Rise Against Gun Violence and Hate partner.

Additional details about events in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, during the last week of August, are forthcoming.  

###

Giffords, PO Box 51196, Washington, DC 20091 United States

Reverberations of Memory,Violence, And History: A Conference for theCentennial of the 1919 Canales Investigation

Friends, 

Do consider attending this conference taking place January 31-February 1, 2019 at the Bullock Museum located at 1800 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701 • Map it

-Angela

#1919Canales

Reverberations of Memory,Violence, And History: A Conference for theCentennial of the 1919 Canales Investigation

RSVP

January 31, 2019 - February 1, 2019

Over ninety years ago, a border native and the only Mexican American serving in the state legislature, José Tomas ‘JT’ Canales called for an investigation into state-sanctioned violence unleashed on the predominantly Mexican-origin community in the state’s southern border.

This two-day conference held on the centennial of that investigation will dive deep into that investigation and its ongoing legacies in the state of Texas.

Event Details

The Bullock Museum is pleased to host a FREE two-day conference exploring the 1919 Canales Investigation and its ongoing legacies in Texas. Presentations will feature internationally-recognized scholars and researchers from the United States, Mexico, and the United Kingdom, who will deliver different perspectives on the history of lynching and other extralegal violence in Texas, the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, and the U.S. South. Topics of discussion will include the relationship between Mexican American communities and the Texas Rangers, women’s anti-lynching activism, histories of racialized state violence, and the importance of civil rights struggles throughout the twentieth century, all set within broader considerations of borderlands and transnational history.

Sessions run 8:30am-5:30pm on Thursday, January 31st and 8:30am-4:30pm on Friday, February 1st. Click here for preliminary session and presenter details.

Registration is now open for this conference! Click the RSVP link to register. 

The 1919 Canales Investigation Conference is co-sponsored by:

·       National Endowment for the Humanities

·       Bullock Texas State History Museum

·       Initiative for Digital Humanities, Media, and Culture

·       Glassock Center for Humanities Research 

·       Clements Center for Southwestern Studies, Southern Methodist University

·       Latino & Mexican American Studies @ Texas A&M University 

·       The Center for Mexican American Studies, The University of Texas at Austin

·       Refusing to Forget 

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this forthcoming conference and subsequent edited volume, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Support for the Bullock Museum's exhibitions and education programs provided by the Texas State History Museum Foundation.