August 18, 2020

Dear Members,

East Bay La Raza Lawyers Association condemns, as New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez powerfully stated on the House floor, a “culture of violence against women.”

On July 21, 2020 on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, Florida Congressman Ted Yoho, who is a white man, called Rep. Ocasio-Cortez “disgusting,” “dangerous,” and a “f****** b****” which was overheard by news reporters. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, a Latina, is the youngest woman ever to serve in the United States Congress. We cannot ignore the implications of this type of aggression. Rep. Yoho accosted Rep. Ocasio-Cortez because she dared to disagree with him. 

Two days before, in a separate incident, a white man and lawyer named Roy Den Hollander showed up at the home of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in New Jersey, disguised as a FedEx delivery person. He shot and killed Judge Salas’ 20-year-old son and shot and injured her husband. Judge Salas is a first-generation lawyer and the first person of Latinx heritage to serve as a federal district court judge in New Jersey. In his self-published autobiography, Den Hollander wrote that Judge Salas was a “lazy and incompetent Latina judge appointed by Obama.”

Both men’s attacks are indicative of the particular hatred, violence, and abuse toward women of color who represent change in an institution created by white supremacy and misogyny. Any kind of abuse—whether verbal, emotional, psychological, or physical—should never be tolerated.

Please join our call to action to denounce men’s violence against women, including women of color and trans women. Let's individually and collectively recognize, report, and respond to direct or implicit acts of aggression, abuse, and exclusion toward women everywhere. 


In solidarity,

EBLRLA Board