(Glen Cove, NY) Five years after Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero was stabbed to death in a racially motivated attack in Patchogue, New York, Long Island Wins and the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County (“HMTC”) will co-sponsor a program offering multi-dimensional perspectives about the hate crime on Sunday, October 20th at 2:00 pm at the HMTC, in Glen Cove, NY.
“The documentary, Deputized, explores the cultivation of hatred by an entire community and the consequences. It portrays the interplay of racism, fear and politics in the ‘deputization’ of young men as killers in the service of a community’s values,” said Maryann Sinclair Slutsky, Executive Director, Long Island Wins.
According to Steven Markowitz, HMTC Chairman, “We are proud to work with Long Island Wins to educate and support our community members with the knowledge and tools to create lasting change. Hate, whether it manifests itself in physical attacks on members of particular groups, or defacing property with swastikas, has no place in our society.”
Lucero, 37, was walking to a friend’s house when he was assaulted by seven teenagers in a Patchogue train station parking lot on November 8, 2008. His violent death shocked New York and thrust the issue of anti-Hispanic sentiment on Long Island into the national spotlight.
Following a documentary presentation of Deputized, or ¿Cómo Pudo Pasar?, as it’s titled in Spanish, produced and directed by Susan Hagedorn, there will be an interactive discussion moderated by Maryann Sinclair Slutsky, Executive Director, Long Island Wins. Panelists include:
- Joselo Lucero — As Outreach Coordinator for the Hagedorn Foundation, Joselo visits middle and high schools on Long Island and across the NY metro region to give presentations on how to prevent bullying and hate-crimes. Since his brother, Marcelo Lucero, was murdered in a hate crime in 2008 in Patchogue, NY, Joselo has been active in community projects to empower youth and instill leadership qualities. Joselo is involved with Long Island based diversity programs, Light Through My Eyes and Embrace Our Differences. Joselo is bilingual in English and Spanish.
- Hon. Jon Cooper — In November 1999, Jon was elected Legislator for Suffolk County’s 18th Legislative District in Huntington. He was elected Majority Leader of the Suffolk County Legislature for six consecutive terms, making him the longest-serving Majority Leader in the history of Suffolk County. As a result of mandatory term limits, Jon retired from office on January 1, 2012. Since 1978, Jon has run Spectronics Corporation, a company based in Westbury that is one of the largest manufacturing firms on Long Island. He is also an active HMTC Board Director.
- Hendel Leiva — Hendel is a community organizer for Welcoming Long Island, an initiative of Long Island Wins. Hendel has previously worked in his hometown of Brentwood on various community related initiatives, including having served as the assistant campaign manager for the Brentwood Campaign for Quality Education. He graduated in 2010 from the University of Albany with a bachelor’s degree in English/Latin American studies. In 2012, he received his master’s degree in public administration from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
- Patrick Young, Esq. — Patrick is the program director of the Central American Refugee Center (CARECEN) in Hempstead and Brentwood. He is also the supervising attorney for the Westchester Hispanic Coalition. Patrick is currently special professor of law at Hofstra University School of Law where he teaches immigration law. In addition, he was a founding chairman of the Long Island Immigrant Alliance (LIIA), where he currently serves as vice chairman.
Media who wish to interview panelists should contact Maryann Sinclair Slutsky at (516) 506-3505 or mslutsky@longislandwins.com.
About Long Island Wins
Long Island Wins is a non-profit communications organization focusing on immigration issues on Long Island and beyond. We work to promote commonsense immigration solutions that are rooted in respect and dignity and that work for everyone, immigrant and native-born alike.
We highlight the contributions of immigrants in our community, enhance public perception of immigrants, and build support for initiatives that maximize immigrants’ contributions. This includes support for national accountable immigration reform, and for local solutions that mean a more welcoming Long Island. Additional information is available online at:www.longislandwins.com
About the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County
The Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County is the pre-eminent Holocaust resource on Long Island, with a contemporary museum and is one of the largest and most comprehensive education program providers in the region. Since 2007, nearly 210,000 students, educators, employers and law enforcement personnel have participated in the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center’s education programs.
Under construction and scheduled to open in January 2014, the Claire Friedlander Education Institute will accommodate four classrooms with state-of-the-art audio-visual aids and cutting edge technical equipment for specialized Holocaust video-conferencing programs and a wide variety of workshops for youth and adults.
With the Louis Posner Memorial Library, the Center offers over 7,000 volumes of Holocaust, genocide, multicultural, anti-bias and anti-bullying material for youth and adults, from Kindergarten through post-graduate researchers. It is the largest such collection on Long Island. Additional information is available online at: www.holocaust-nassau.org
