The National Executive Board and the national membership of Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc. condemns the acts of racism, bigotry, white supremacy, and terrorism that took place this weekend in Charlottesville, VA. As an organization whose values align with advancing and advocating for diverse communities, we are saddened by this event and many others that continually target communities of color. We stand in solidarity with those that put their lives at risk to confront these acts of terrorism in Charlottesville.
Over the last year we have seen an increase in notions of white supremacy and white nationalist rhetoric. As a result, these incidents in Charlottesville is not one that just came out of nowhere. As Rosa Clemente, Afro-Latinx community organizer and activist, stated, “Terrorism is an American ethos…In our hearts we knew this was going to happen, we didn’t know when, we didn’t know where but we knew because this is America and this is what America was founded on and founded by”.
As members of an organization that prides itself on moving our collective communities together WE MUST call these acts of hatred and violence out. WE cannot be silent or stand on the sidelines while history repeats itself. As members of Lambda Theta Phi we strongly oppose the acts of white supremacy and its leadership.
We encourage brothers to use their positionality in terms of their sphere of influence to encourage others to oppose white supremacy and work towards creating spaces of justice for marginalized communities. We urge our membership and our partners to engage in action and conversations through the use of social media platforms and community/solidarity protest that move our communities forward. When engaging on social media feel free to use #WeStandWithCharlottesville or #TAKEDOWNHATE.
For all of our brothers and their respective communities, please report any acts of racial bias or violence to your institutions and to our National Director of Community Affairs, Roberto Orozco at . Brother Orozco will provide you with guidance on the appropriate resources. We will continue to put out national resources for all of our membership and our partners as they become available.
Click to Download Our Statement