FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 11, 2014

For more information, contact:

James Hong
718.460.5600
james.hong@minkwon.org

MINKWON CENTERS STATEMENT ON ERIC GARNER

AND THE GRAND JURYS FAILURE TO INDICT
The MinKwon Center for Community Action denounces the failure of the grand jury to indict
Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the chokehold killing of Eric Garner, an unarmed African American
man accused by the NYPD of selling loose cigarettes. This and a similar failure by a grand jury
in Ferguson, Missouri, in finding justice for Michael Brown are not simply tragic events these
are representative of our countrys systemic de-valuation of human life, especially those of
African Americans.
The most prominent civil rights and protections enjoyed by Korean American, Asian American
and immigrant communities today are the direct result of the Civil Rights Movement of the
1960s. However, the recent grand jury results for Michael Brown and Eric Garner show that by
no means has civil rights been achieved in America. These events have exposed the brokenness
of our justice system and the entrenched racial discrimination that impacts all minority
communities.
At this time we stand in solidarity with those in the African American community and people
everywhere in condemning the results of the Garner grand jury and the pervasive disregard for
black and brown lives that it represents.
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The MinKwon Center for Community Action was established in 1984 to meet the needs and concerns of the
Korean American community through immigrant rights and political empowerment. The MinKwon Center has
emerged as a leading organization in building a sustained community for marginalized individuals, including recent
immigrants, minorities, low-income residents, limited English proficient persons, elderly and youth.