In Stanislaus, representatives of targeted communities speak out against hate, violence
There’s been an unintended consequence of the shootings and other acts of violence and hate across the nation against disparate groups including racial minorities, the LGBTQ+ community and members of non-Christian faiths. Members of these groups have allied, finding support, love and strength in numbers.
That unity was evident in the diverse attendance at a recent “Silence is Complicity” interfaith vigil recently at St. Francis of Rome Parish in Riverbank. About 100 people took part in the Dec. 13 gathering to address and offer solutions to the gun violence intersectionally plaguing minority communities. A newly elected lawmaker talked about punishment deterring crime. An NAACP leader said that learned hate can be unlearned. And LGBTQ+ speakers told of fighting fear and finding fellowship.
The vigil came about the same time as the U.S. Department of Justice released the 2021 Hate Crime Statistics report. “Overall, law enforcement agencies reported 7,262 total incidents and 9,024 victims, demonstrating that hate crimes remain a concern for communities across the country,” it found.
The DOJ reported that “incidents related to sexual orientation and gender identity represented 19.7% of all single-bias incidents reported in 2022” and anti-Semitic incidents made up 31.9%, the highest of all religion-based incidents.
Father Misael Avila, pastor of St. Francis, hosted the event. After hearing about Nov. 19 mass shooting at Colorado Springs’ Club Q, which killed five and injured 25 others, he said he called other local faith leaders. He felt they needed to do something for the LGBT community and others who are feeling the weight of gun violence.
The Stanislaus Interfaith Council, a multi-faith leadership community, brings Avila and Rabbi Shalom Bochner of Modesto’s Congregation Beth Shalom together with others for events like the vigil.
“We wish we could have included Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims,” Avila said after the Dec. 13 event. “We didn’t have too much time to plan, with the holidays coming up, but we had a good turnout and a good list of speakers.”
Bochner spoke at the vigil about the rise and disproportionate violence against Jewish people in America. He asked attendees to join in Hanukkah celebrations hosted by Congregation Beth Shalom, including outdoor menorah lightings, to help the members of their community feel safe while celebrating their winter traditions.
Several of the speakers at the interfaith gathering mentioned the hate behind mass shootings like that at Club Q.
“I have had to write too many public statements condemning violence and hate,” said Veronica Ambrose, a community organizer with the Central Valley Pride Center, or MoPride. She said the organization has had to “replace smashed windows and sweep broken glass on many occasions.” The center also regularly received hate mail, it’s leaders have said.
Katalina Zambrano, a trans woman with Somos Familia (a program that supports Latino families with LGBTQ+ children), spoke about the importance of being embraced by community.
As a transgender teen in Merced in the 1990s, Zambrano said, it was extremely hard to find any resources, “much less people who were brave enough to stand up with us.”
There were no laws protecting her, no teachers to talk to, she said. “The world around me did absolutely everything it could to tear me down” and remind her she was unwanted and unloved.
She spoke of surviving depression, addiction, homelessness and resorting to sex work. “I’m still alive, and now it’s time to thrive,” Zambrano told the audience.
She has found community, and it’s the one thing that’s kept her going. She urged vigil attendees to invest in their own communities, to give back and to volunteer.
Modesto/Stanislaus NAACP Vice President Margaret James spoke of God’s love of all people. “If he didn’t intend for us to be different, he would not have created us as he has done,” she said.
“Violence, hatred and extremism are learned behavior,” James added. “The good news is that it can also be unlearned.”
Among other speakers was newly elected District 22 Assemblyman Juan Alanis, who also is a sergeant with the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office. As a deputy, he took an oath to protect all people, not some, and he promised to carry that vow into his service in Sacramento.
Alanis told vigil attendees that historically, consequences have been “a big part of people not wanting to commit crimes.” As a lawmaker, he said, he will work to “bring back” consequences that have been weakened.
Solutions offered by speakers included gun control and education about the targeted communities.
Local videographer Richard Anderson, posted his footage of the “Silence is Complicity” event on Youtube. As of Monday, there was only one person commenting on the video, and he wrote: “Is that a priest letting LGBT people talk about their sin?”
Video of the event, in both Spanish and English, also is posted on the St. Francis Facebook page.
This story was originally published December 20, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
