NCLR Joins Call for Martin Civil Rights Case, Yet Still Silent About David Silva In-Custody Death

Jul 16, 2013
1:03 PM

Yesterday NBC Latino reported that the National Council of La Raza “has joined the NAACP, National Action Network, National Urban League and other advocacy organizations in asking to meet with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to discuss possible next steps by the federal government just two days after a Florida jury acquitted George Zimmerman of all charges in the April 2012 shooting death of teen Trayvon Martin.”

According to the NBC Latino piece, NCLR’s Janet Muguia said the following:

While we respect the legal process and the jury’s decision, we are deeply disappointed and saddened by this verdict. However, we believe that it is still possible to achieve some measure of justice for Trayvon Martin and his family, so we are joining with our brothers and sisters in the black community in calling on the Department of Justice to weigh in more forcefully on the matter. We also believe it is critical to see this case as a teachable moment; we must continue to educate our fellow Americans on what racial profiling really is and the toll it takes on all communities of color in this country.

However, NCLR remains silent about the in-custody death of David Sal Silva. Latino Rebels has covered this tragedy since the beginning, and has even called for Latino civil rights organizations to give Silva’s death more attention. Our founder also penned an opinion piece asking a very simple question: “Where is the outrage about the police beating death of David Silva?” So far, there has been little movement from major Latino organizations.

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Only the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) has responded to the Rebels’ request, deferring to the civil rights lawsuit that was submitted by the Silva family’s lawyer last month.

You would think that a national organization such as NCLR would at least have commented about Silva’s death by now. The case was finally featured on VICE last week, yet the outrage from major Latino organizations continues to be muted.

This past May, a Latino man died at the hands of police. His father called it “murder.” When will organizations like NCLR join the cause?