By Sakshi Venkatraman and Char Adams -
NBC News
The country was still in upheaval over a deadly shooting attributed to a suspected white supremacist in Buffalo, New York, a shooting of Korean women in Dallas, and the slayings at a Taiwanese church in Laguna Woods, California, when a gunman killed at least one man on Tuesday. 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas.
The Black and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities show their solidarity with the Latino population of Uvalde at a time when calls to protect the most disadvantaged populations in the United States are increasingly urgent.
Latino and Hispanic residents make up 72.7% of the Uvalde County population, according to census data.
[The Texas school killer was bullied as a child and became increasingly violent. He thus acted during the shooting with 21 victims]
“I hope we can use this moment to support each other,” said Chas Moore, founder of the Austin Justice Coalition, a Black-led social justice organization.
“The black community just went through the terrible hate crime that happened in Buffalo.
Now the Latino community is going through this.
Our communities are in mourning,” he added.
Civil rights leaders from every community have been texting and emailing each other since the shootings in Dallas and Buffalo this month, according to John C. Yang, president and CEO of Asian Americans Advancing Justice.
Shortly before the massacre, the killer posted these three messages on Facebook about his grandmother and the school
May 25, 202200:51
"Even after the shootings in Buffalo, Laguna Woods and Dallas, all of our communities have been talking to each other via text, cell phone and email," he said.
With every shooting a new discussion arises, and the constant communications often feel grim.
[Give details of the 'modus operandi' of the attacker of a school in Uvalde, Texas]
“Those conversations have been angry, sad and frustrated,” he said.
“When we get on the phone with each other, we all recognize 'here we go again.'
Because it's not the first time we've had these conversations," he recalled.
Similar discussions, as well as joint communications directed at the White House, have taken place after the shootings at Asian-owned spas in Atlanta;
a Walmart in El Paso, Texas;
the Emanuel AME Baptist Church in Charleston, South Carolina;
and the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.
"The list is endless," she noted.
Hair World Salon in Dallas, Texas on May 15, 2022.Raul Rodriguez/NBC News
"At a very basic level, I would ask people to reach out to their friends and neighbors in the different communities that have been affected," Yang said.
“Just open that conversation and be brave in your discomfort.
We recognize that some of these conversations will be tough and uncomfortable, but we have to have them," she added.
Authorities explained that an 18-year-old man barricaded himself in a classroom at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde and opened fire on students and teachers.
[Grandfather of Texas Killer Apologizes for the Damage His Grandson Caused: "I'm in Pain for Everything"]
Uvalde, about 51.5 miles (83 kilometers) west of San Antonio, is in a region with a large Mexican-American population, and about 87% of the school's students are considered economically disadvantaged.
Yang said the violence against three communities highlights the dangers of existing as a minority in the United States.
"It just underscores the desperate need to work together and find solutions," he said.
Since the massacre, photos of the victims have been shared online, groups have created numerous fundraisers to support the victims' families, and calls for stricter gun laws have begun to dominate the national debate.
[How to talk to children after the school massacre in Texas? An expert shares recommendations]
Moore said that as the Austin Coalition for Justice discusses concrete ways to support the community less than three hours away, she hopes the tragedy will spark even more solidarity.
“This can happen anywhere.
After the duel, I hope that black and color communities can organize to fight for gun safety laws.
Something has to change," Moore said.
Two AR-15s and 375 cartridges: the arsenal that the Texas killer bought days after his 18th birthday
May 26, 202200:35
Outrage over the relaxation of gun laws in Texas has followed the elementary school shooting, especially as Gov. Greg Abbott signed seven laws last June to expand gun rights.
One of the laws allows people to carry handguns without a license.
While many people have blamed the shooting, in part, on the state's lack of gun control laws, experts, who have said that was not the case in Buffalo, have attributed the killings to the state's history of racist terror. country.
Bobby Blount, spokesman for the San Antonio Area Black Community Fund, announced that the organization is willing to do whatever it can to support the Latino community in Uvalde.
[Beto O'Rourke and Greg Abbott clash over gun control after Texas school shooting]
“We have to continue with the mission of making the world better for our demographic, the Latinx demographic, for Asians and others,” Blount said.
“It's important that we not only support each other on this, but on other issues that we're dealing with in general,” he said.
And because gun violence cuts across three different communities, solidarity among them doesn't take one form, said Manju Kulkarni, co-founder of the civil rights organization Stop AAPI Hate.
A person walks past the scene of a shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, on May 15, 2022. Matt Rourke / AP
“It means, at the very least, acknowledging what is happening to other communities, seeing that the hatred against African Americans is similar to but also different from what our Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities experience.” , said.
Political solutions cannot be one-sided and leaders must introduce legislation that benefits all communities of color.
Kulkarni acknowledged that minority communities can feel silenced and desperate when it comes to creating change.
[Artists and Celebrities Call for Action to End Gun Violence Following Uvalde Elementary School Massacre]
Nineteen states enacted voting restrictions last year.
Experts believe the measures will worsen access to the polls for people of color.
“I understand that right now people feel that the government is inept,” he said.
"This is what we have, this is the way to share our collective voice, but democracy has to work," he added.
For those without national platforms to confront the violence, solidarity can be as simple as checking on loved ones, donating to mutual aid operations or openly expressing anger, according to activists.
