October 11, 2022
NHMC Calls for All Three LA City Council Members to Resign
Stop Racist Toxicity in the Latine Community
A Statement from Brenda Victoria Castillo, President & CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC)
It is a tenet of NHMC’s mission and purpose to combat hate and end racism and discrimination - especially in our own communities. Hate has no place in our democracy, and NHMC is appalled by the comments made by LA City Council Representatives Nury Martinez, Kevin de León, and Gil Cedillo. We forcefully call on them to immediately resign, condemn their own actions, and allow for the much-needed healing process to begin for the city of Los Angeles.
This is a particularly upsetting revelation and action by the first Latina president in LA City Council’s 171-year history, with Nury Martinez acting as the main perpetrator of the racist, anti-Indigenous, anti-Black, and all-around dehumanizing comments. We have come too far and worked too hard to allow our community to be divided, without accountability, for the internalized discriminatory beliefs present in many of our cultures. This is not the way to progress, and we must call on each other as Latine to stop division rooted in hate.
NHMC calls for all three LA City Council Members involved to immediately resign from all of their positions as a first step in remedying these inexcusable racist actions and hateful words. We encourage everyone to look deeply and have honest conversations about how to combat racism, colorism, and discrimination that exists in our own community and others.
Yours in the Movement,
Brenda Victoria Castillo
President & CEO
National Hispanic Media Coalition
