CLC joins in the outrage over the racist and hateful remarks made by former Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez, Councilmembers Kevin de Leon and Gil Cedillo, and former Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera.
There are 28,000 children and youth in the child welfare system in Los Angeles County – the largest population of youth in foster care in the nation. The vast majority of these children are Black and LatinX. Black children are not only disproportionately represented in foster care, they also experience overwhelmingly negative outcomes as compared to other children in Los Angeles.
As the attorneys appointed to represent children in foster care in Los Angeles, Sacramento and Placer Counties, CLC is appalled by statements from leaders who were elected to champion the interests of our clients. These statements highlight the racism that threatens the health, safety and well-being of all children and especially Black children – including the shocking comparison of a Black child to a monkey (a racist insult used for centuries to justify slavery, lynchings, and the creation of the Jim Crow state), the insinuation that a Black child should be treated differently than a white child, the audacious endorsement of child abuse (“this kid needs a beat down”), and the characterization of a transracial adoptee as a commodity. The children in our community deserve better.
CLC continues to be committed to advocating for justice and equity. CLC calls for the leadership in Los Angeles to reflect our city’s commitment to dismantling structures of racism that lead to inequities and promoting values that support all families.