NYC protest against hate crime
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NEW YORK--A rally and march were held in Bushwick, Brooklyn, on December 14 to mark the fatal beating of Ecuadorian immigrant Jose Sucuzhanay.
The attack occurred a week earlier, as Jose and his brother were walking home. Three men jumped from a vehicle, shouting anti-Latino and anti-gay slurs, and attacked Jose with a bottle and a baseball bat.
The rally, organized by Bushwick community group Mark the Road New York, included the Anti-Violence Project, the NAACP and politicians such as state Sen. Thomas Duane.
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn officially announced that the assailants would be charged with a hate crime. Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez said that bigots get their cue from the government, which relegates people to second-class status by rounding up immigrants and opposing gay rights.
She emphasized that "this type of crime cannot be tolerated, not against immigrants and not against lesbians and gays."
