Among Hispanics, a unity similar to that of African Americans is needed.

Los Angeles Jury Convicts Mark Ridley-Thomas, Former African-American Counsel, Former Executive, Former Assemblyman and Former California Senator, on seven counts of bribery, conspiracy, four counts of electronic fraud and one count of mail fraud . a scheme whereby he and his son received benefits from the University of Southern California while he was Los Angeles County Superintendent.

However, the African American community as a whole did not stop supporting him to the end. Even when he was found guilty, many of the people with whom he had worked for more than three decades, including family and colleagues, did not believe that the official was responsible for all the charges against him. In fact, they think that Thomas is innocent.

Especially since the former South Los Angeles official has never pleaded guilty and has repeatedly stated that his actions may have been wrong, but never crossed the red line of illegality.

Thomas’ supporters accused prosecutors and the FBI of being dishonest; moreover, during his trial, racism against African Americans was suggested as a motive for the case, but to no avail. Last Monday, Federal Judge Dale S. Fisher sentenced Mark Ridley-Thomas to 42 months in prison, a $30,000 fine, and three years of probation.

That day, more than 100 people were present in court to hear the verdict, and according to some articles and newspaper reports, most people were sad and many even cried when they heard the final verdict.

Various personalities were in the judges’ room, such as the intellectual Cornel West, who called the official “a brother for life” and described him as “one of the greatest public servants in the history of the state.”

Sheila Kuhl, a former Los Angeles executive, described Thomas as “a good and honorable man,” and Jackie Goldberg, president of the Los Angeles School District, called the official a “social justice warrior.”

Throughout the criminal case, the public and his colleagues enjoyed such support that they raised up to $1.5 million for his defense fund; press conferences were held demanding his release, and pastors of several churches prayed for the former leader.

Unfortunately, this type of support is not replicated in the Hispanic community. Gil Zedillo experienced it first hand.

Zedillo was an official who had fought for the Hispanic community for nearly three decades and who owed much of California’s illegal driver’s license; He was also the author of the Dream Law which, among many other achievements, allows undocumented students to access public and private funding to continue their studies at university.

However, his presence in the racist conversation and his inactivity at the time was enough to make some members of the community and some of his colleagues want to remove him immediately and then dump his legacy in the city dump. .

At the end of 2022, in the last months of Zedillo’s political career, many of his colleagues did not want to be seen talking to him or taking pictures with him, who was also an activist, senator, legislator and real leader of the party in his time. latin community. Now he’s just been branded as a racist who should be punished, as if he were a person who made inappropriate comments but did nothing to stop them, many argue.

We would like to be like African Americans and, before condemning, see the whole context of an official, not ignore what he did, but compensate for the damage in the appropriate dimension, but without throwing away a career and an example for many.

As a community, we need the political maturity that allows us to form our own judgments and act without being bound by the media or outside interests that, in many cases, simply want to take political advantage out of any unfortunate situation.

I am sure that if the Hispanic community were more united and, like African Americans, we showed our solidarity, knowing the reason to the end, we would be stronger and move faster for the benefit of all.

Agustín Durán is the editor of the “Metro” section of the newspaper La Opinión.