The Hispanic Leaders Group of Greater St. Louis and its Board of Directors condemns all forms of racism and law enforcement practices that result in the death of unarmed individuals in police custody.
The Hispanic Leaders Group (HLG) of Greater St. Louis hereby expresses its most sincere condolences to the George Floyd Family and joins with all who grieve in the wake of his killing.
The HLG stands in solidarity with the Floyd Family and joins thousands of Americans to fight against racism and police brutality. We pledge to our St. Louis community to speak firmly against any hate crime, racism, and senseless violence against people regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, immigration status, religion, and sexual orientation or gender identity. We advocate for those persons who are challenged by disabilities and mental illness. We call on elected officials and community leaders to examine our own biases and roll up our sleeves to make systemic changes to protect lives from such blatant disregard of human rights, especially for the African American community that has suffered horrible inequities and loss of life from the time of the Middle Passage to the present.
We applaud the conduct of Minneapolis Chief of Police Medaria Arradondo, who while visiting the scene where Mr. Floyd was killed by his police officers, confirmed that Officer Derek Chauvin perpetrated a violation of humanity contrary to departmental values. We commend the Chief for his action in firing the four officers involved. As he said, “Silence is an action – you’re complicit.”
Since 1983, the Hispanic Leaders Group (HLG) of Greater St. Louis has promoted and supported the advancement of our vibrant Hispanic/Latinx communities through networking, education, and advocacy to foster harmony, diversity, and inclusion in the greater St. Louis region.
The HLG invites all government organizations and their leadership to consider bold action to seek to achieve greater equity and eliminate systemic racism and harm to African-Americans, to include:
- Reform the justice system.
- Elimination of for-profit prisons.
- Work against the school-to-prison pipeline.
- Work with business partners to increase economic equity for communities of color.
- Seek to achieve substantive changes to the profession of policing in the region.
Antonio Maldonado
Chair and the Board of Directors
Hispanic Leaders Group of Greater St. LouisPO Box 78386
St. Louis, MO 63178 www.stlhlg.org
