Candi CdeBaca
Senseless killings are a tragedy for every community, no matter where they happen. We haven’t even had a chance to absorb last week’s murders in Atlanta and the impact of rising anti-Asian violence nationwide, and now we’re reeling from another mass shooting close to home. It’s no accident that yet another entitled killer targeted those with the least protections, including frontline grocery workers.
Maybe one day this country will wake up and pass common-sense gun laws to protect our most vulnerable while imposing equal justice on domestic terrorists. Until then, we will continue to mourn and attempt to heal our collective trauma resulting from this perpetual cycle of violence. We offer our deepest condolences to the victims’ families and all those who are impacted by gun violence.
Regarding last week’s killings in Atlanta, we offer this collective statement from the entire Denver District 9 team: As an all-women staff who are regularly targeted with misogynistic and racist threats, yet who are undeterred in fighting for the rights of vulnerable and exploited workers, we stand in solidarity with our Asian/Asian American Pacific Islander community, and Asian women in particular—especially those who are living in the margins and have been rendered invisible within the shadow of a colonialist legacy that still does not fully value their voices, bodies, or labor.
When we talk about needing to re-center the margins, this is what we mean: When confronting oppression, those who are closest to the pain but the furthest from power must play a central role in their own liberation.
When confronting oppression, those who are closest to the pain but the furthest from power must play a central role in their own liberation.
Migrant immigrant workers, low-wage workers, undocumented workers, and yes, sex workers. We will use our platform to amplify their struggles and to stand in solidarity against racist and misogynistic acts of violence. In solidarity, the District 9 team.
Denver City Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca and District 9 Team, Lisa Calderón, Liz Stalnaker, and Brea Zeise.
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