The following is a personal appeal from the mothers of Manuel Diaz and Joel Acevedo, the two men murdered on July 21 and 22 by Anaheim police which led to historic community mobilizations against the scourge of police brutality. It was first published by the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) as part of a call for a state-wide mobilization on the one-year anniversary in Anaheim. More than 30 other families have joined the call. Learn more at AnswerLA.org.
To the people of California:
Our names are Genevieve Huizar and Donna Michelle Castro and we are writing to you and all people concerned with fighting police brutality and racism. Our sons were murdered on July 21 and July 22 of last year in the city of Anaheim, sparking weeks of rebellion and resistance to the epidemic of police violence that is affecting communities throughout Southern California and beyond.
These mass protests were made possible through the broad unity of local communities and activist organizations. We call on all of you, from Bakersfield to San Diego, to converge in Anaheim again, on the one year anniversary of those dramatic events. We will march united, in the name of our fallen sons, Manuel Diaz and Joel Acevedo, to demand an end to police brutality throughout the region.
Our demands for the July 21 march, which are our points of unity, have come from our experiences for the past year as steadfast activists in the police brutality movement throughout Southern California, fighting alongside countless grieving mothers.
We demand:
- Justice for Manuel Diaz, Joel Acevedo and all victims of police violence!
- Jail all killer cops! Recall California DAs!
- End racial profiling, gang injunctions and police checkpoints!
- No more border killings! Stop all raids!
- Community control over all police and prison guards!
We know that the people hold the power to stop police violence and that this change can only come from our collective, direct action. We will gather at Little People’s Park in remembrance of the 1978 uprising against racist Anaheim police violence. We will march on Disneyland, a world icon of Southern California, and expose the real life experience of working people that are pushed outside the bounds of Southern California tourism and affluence.
In solidarity,
Genevieve Huizar and Donna Michelle Castro
