As more details continue to emerge after Tuesday’s deadly collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, officials and others with ties to the local community are trying to raise awareness about the victims.
The six people who died were all immigrants from Latin America, according to officials and their families. As conservative lawmakers continue to demonize immigrants, the tragedy serves as a timely reminder of the essential role these people play in fueling the U.S. economy. To be clear, immigrants contribute much more to the country than their labor. But highlighting their economic contributions — and the risks that immigrants take to make them — is just one way to call out the right-wing bigots who claim they want America to prosper yet malign people who help make that prosperity possible.
On Wednesday’s episode of “The ReidOut,” Joy welcomed Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott to discuss the racist dog whistles. Some right-wingers have claimed that the bridge collapse — and Scott’s mayorship itself — stemmed from diversity, equity and inclusion programs. It’s part of their bigoted crusade against diversity measures, which Scott aptly identified as coded anti-Blackness. But, to his credit, he’s not allowing the bigotry to bog him down.
“We know what they want to say, but they don’t have the courage to say the N-word,” the mayor told Joy. “And the fact that I don’t believe in their untruthful and wrong ideology — and I am very proud of my heritage and who I am and where I come from — scares them.”
Scott added: “Because me being at my position means that their way of thinking, their way of life of being comfortable while everyone else suffers, is going to be at risk — and they should be afraid, because that’s my purpose in life.”
The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs is promoting an emergency response fund that people can use to donate to families affected by the bridge collapse. Check it out here.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.