Is Latino leadership self-censoring?

*Yes! I’m very glad these questions are being asked and discussed in the media: Why haven’t there been massive protests in the wake of the deaths of four Latinos at the hands of law enforcement officers; has the immigration issue sucked the air out of other issues that are imortant to Latinos?; why have some of the largest national Latino organizations been silent on the matter? This is well worth a listen.VL

By A.C. Valdez, Latino USA

While names like Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and Trayvon Martin have become well-known, you’re much less likely to be familiar with the cases of Jessica Hernandez, Alex Nieto, and Antonio Zambrano Montes. Or the recent death of Rubén García Villalpando.

In this conversation with Julio Varela, Futuro Media Group’s digital media director, and political strategist Alida Garcia, Maria Hinojosa asks where Latino leadership organizations like MALDEF, LULAC, and the National Council of La Raza stand in the conversation. Also: is the attention being paid to immigration action stifling the debate? Or should questions like police violence and training towards Latinos be integral to the immigration debate?

This article was originally published in Latino USA.

A.C. Valdez is a Senior Producer at Latiuno SA. He comes to LatinoUSA by way of public radio shows like America Abroad, The Diane Rehm Show, WAMU-FM’s The Kojo Nnamdi Show, and Tell Me More. He’s worked with reporters from around the world, coordinated performances with groups like The Noisettes, and done in-depth work on the U.S. military’s counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan. A native of Washington, D.C., A.C. Is a graduate of Emerson College.