The Latino Commission’s June 17 letter laments “the tragic and senseless murders” of the most recent victims of racial violence against Black citizens. Their letter names “our brothers George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, our sister Breonna Taylor, and Rayshard Brooks,” citing “the reality of racism that so often black and brown people face across this nation.”

The commission’s missive relates mostly Latino immigrant “families being separated, detained in overcrowded camps and left to die” to “the continued violent assault on black bodies by police.” It links white supremacy and white privilege to COVID 19 as viruses that have “plagued the nation and in particular black and brown communities.”

With “BLACK LIVES MATTER! ¡LAS VIDAS NEGRAS VALEN!” written in all caps, the letter further calls for both the commission and BMCR, “our siblings,” to “hold our Annual Conference accountable to take seriously the work of dismantling racism in all its forms and to continue to live up to our baptismal vows as United Methodists…”

Read the letter: Latino Commission Letter to BMCR Familia en Cristo – June 17, 2020