*photo courtesy of Hampton Chronicle*
La Luz Centro Cultural Program Coordinator Thelma Rivera has denounced an incident where flyers were placed on the doors of Hispanic businesses in Hampton. She tells RadioOnTheGo News the incident leaves the Hispanic community in Hampton with an uneasy feeling.
“It’s not about us picking a side or, you know, a Republican party,” Rivera says. “It’s just us being seen as human beings in general. And, you know, to see, like I said, the words, no permit required, or no tag required and no tag limit, it’s very offensive. And people just assuming that you have no papers or you’re illegal. No human is illegal, in my opinion. No human is illegal. And when we got here to work, it was just an uneasy feeling. You feel targeted.”
Rivera adds that despite feelings of uneasiness and being targeted by this act, they feel support coming from the broader community in Hampton.
“A lot of the people that I’ve spoken to do feel uneasy. But we know that we have a lot of the support in the community. And we stand strong and we just we have to stand together. We have to come together as as a people.”
The flyers were discovered Tuesday morning. The incident was reported to the Hampton Police Department, which is conducting an investigation. Chief Mark Morrison is unable to comment further as the investigation is ongoing.
