Shooting raises race questions in Cobb County
The Associated Press - MARIETTA, Ga.
Some members of the community say a deadly shooting in a Marietta
apartment complex has harmed efforts to improve race relations became
some believe the killing was racially motivated.
Shortly after the May 8 shooting in which two Hispanic men were
killed, police ruled out possible gang or drug motives, saying the
shooting instead appeared to have been race-related.
Witnesses told investigators that three black men accused of the crime
yelled something derogatory about Hispanics before they started
shooting.
Marietta Police will not say what exactly the men said.
Deane Bonner, president of the Cobb County branch of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said she believes
the shooting was not motivated by race. Her group is closely watching
the investigation _ but won't get involved unless a racial motive is
proven.
"The only way we would get involved is if they (Marietta police) can
prove that it was a hate crime," Bonner said.
Meanwhile, the councilwoman who represents the area where the shooting
occurred said the incident has set back her efforts to bring together
a racially diverse area of the suburban county.
"I think it's a real tragedy that it happened," said Councilwoman
Betty Hunter. "It has done a lot of damage to our community. We're
trying to build this area, and we're trying to relieve fears."
Hunter has worked for the past decade with an organization called the
Loop Group, which is designed to ease racial tensions. The group was
formed when blacks began moving into what had been an all-white area
to build better relationships between the two racial groups, she said.
Years later, when Hispanics moved into the same area, they faced
resentment from both whites and blacks, Hunter said.
"They didn't understand their lifestyle," she said.
Bonner said most blacks in Marietta have positive relations with
Hispanics, especially because they share some of the same concerns
including employment, education and the criminal justice system.
Both the NAACP and the Loop Group work closely with the Latin American
Association, a nonprofit organization that provides transitional
services for Latinos.
While local groups work to iron out racial differences, people of all
races have rallied behind the family of one of the men killed.
Guillermo Calderon, a native of Mexico, left a wife and three young
children behind and was the breadwinner for the family, holding down
jobs at Chick-fil-A and the Salvation Army.
So far, more than $5,000 has been donated to a memorial fund set up in
his honor to help his family.
"Out of Guillermo's death, I hope that the Latino community will
understand that they are a valued part of our community," said Leigh
Colburn, principal of nearby Park Street Elementary School.
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