Hispanic community organizations in GA respond to killings in Uvalde

Hispanic community organizations in Georgia have been responding this week to the horrific murder of 19 children and two school teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The school is around 90 percent Hispanic, and almost 80 percent of Uvalde’s residents are Hispanic.

For those in Georgia’s large and growing Hispanic communities, the tragedy was felt on multiple levels - as fellow parents and family members, as those who have left their homeland in the hope for a better life for their children, and as residents living in a country plagued by gun violence.

A statement from Los Vecinos de Buford Highway, a grassroots community organization that supports Spanish speaking families around the Buford Highway corridor, said - “We share the pain of the parents who yesterday lost the most precious thing in their lives…The Buford Highway Neighbors mourn the continuing loss of life in the United States. Human life is a splendid and precious thing. Story after story of fathers and mothers, grandmothers and grandfathers, aunts and uncles, who have fought, sacrificed, and given everything to be in this country and give their children a better life and a future full of opportunities resonate in our communities.”

Latino Community Fund - Georgia, a non profit that focuses on everything from policy change to direct services for Georgia’s diverse Hispanic communities, posted “We mourn the horrific and irreparable loss of lives. LCF-Georgia is committed to support policies aiming to prevent these tragedies from happening again.”

The Latin American Association, a Buford Highway headquartered organization that has been serving the community for 40 years, said in a statement - “This shooting is one of several we have witnessed in the last week. We acknowledge the pain felt by our brothers and sisters in the AAPI community and Black communities who were targets of equally senseless killings in Southern California and in Buffalo, New York. These tragic events - and others that have affected the Latino communities in Orlando and El Paso - remind us that gun violence is a daily reality in our country…we call on and urge civic, nonprofit, and faith leaders, as well as appointed and elected officials to respond urgently and act to address the national outcry of grief and loss that has reached the ears of every American.”

Georgia joins Texas and states across the South and the Midwest with some of the loosest gun laws in the country. Just last month, Governor Kemp signed legislation that makes it legal for gun owners to carry a concealed handgun without a permit in public.

Community groups are hoping to organize a memorial to honor the victims in the coming days.

How to help:

TOP COVER PHOTO: A makeshift memorial for the shooting victims outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 27, 2022. Photo Credit: CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images