Hispanic Leaders Note Lack of National Attention on Killing of Latinos

*An update on the Antonio Zambrano Montes shooting – not so much about proceedings or court actions, or charges against police officers. This is about a question many of us have been asking: Why did the Ferguson shooting get more media attention? This piece begins to answer that question. What do you think? VL

By Selena Hill, Latin Post

Although the fatal police shooting of an unarmed Mexican man in Pasco, Washington in February has sparked several local protests, Latino activists questioned why the incident has not received the same level of national attention and media coverage as other police shootings involving African Americans.

“There are a lot of parallels between what happened in Pasco, Washington and Ferguson,” said journalist Raul Reyes on a recent segment of José Díaz-Balart’s talk show on MSNBC. However, “somewhere it does not seem to resonate with mainstream media and certainly with the broader American public the way some of these incidents have involving African Americans.”

Nestor Rodriguez, a sociology professor at the University of Texas at Austin, also points out that “the Latino population did not respond nationally as African Americans did concerning the killing of African American men by police,” he said, according to Takepart. He also noted that “police have been killing black and Latino youth for decades;” however, it was the swift response by the black community that made the difference in forming a movement.

“When it comes to Latinos, a large percent are immigrants or children of immigrants, so they have a host of issues to deal with in regard to status,” Rodriguez added. “To some extent the Latino community is already overwhelmed by other issues,” such as trying to keep families together.

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