Los Angeles, CA- On Sunday, October 9, 2022, an article by the LA Times revealed a leaked audio recording exposing members of the Los Angeles City Council including then Council President Nury Martinez, Councilmember Gil Cedillo, and Councilmember Kevin De Leon, and Ron Herrera, President of Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. Los Angeles City Councilmember Nury Martinez and other community leaders engaged in openly racist remarks regarding another Councilmember's son and derogatory comments about the Black and Indigenous Oaxacan communities of Los Angeles. 

Martha Arevalo Executive Director of CARECEN-LA Issues the Following Statement:

“The Central American Resource Center of Los Angeles (CARECEN-LA) joins the community’s collective outrage and extreme disappointment in our local representatives. We will not tolerate anti-Black, anti-Indigenous, and anti-LGBTQ+ remarks and actions from any representative or leader no matter who they are. 

CARECEN envisions Los Angeles becoming a place where Central Americans and all other communities live in peace and dignity by building strong coalitions in solidarity with marginalized groups, including Black and Indigenous communities. We denounce any idea that in order for one community to be uplifted another must be denigrated. We will not stand by any elected official or community leaders who aim to pit our communities against each other in order to move their political agenda forward.  

This marks a very disappointing time in Los Angeles, as we strive to be a global model of what a welcoming multi-ethnic City looks like. We ask that all those involved be held accountable. Political leaders must be inclusive of our Black and Indigenous brothers and sisters. They cannot claim to be our champions when being racist toward Black and Indigenous communities. We cannot continue to stand for failed promises and public displays of support with no action. It’s time to do better.”

##