Actress Rosario Dawson blasted Dolores Huerta in an open letter regarding the Latino activist’s criticism of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders.
In a post on Medium in February, Huerta, who is a United Farm Workers co-founder, slammed Sanders’ record on immigration.
“Sanders has positioned himself as a champion of the immigrant community … But here’s the truth: Candidate Bernie Sanders, advocate for immigrants, is not the same as Senator Bernie Sanders,” wrote Huerta.
Huerta also claimed Sanders supporters chanted “English only” at her while she tried to translate for Spanish-speaking caucus-goers, after Clinton won the Nevada caucus in February.
Dawson — who laid into the Democratic National Committee this week for allegedly showing preferential treatment to Hillary Clinton over Sen. Bernie Sanders — published an open letter at the Huffington Post this week, in which she accuses the 85-year-old of creating “a narrative that distorts facts and misguides American voters.”
While Dawson does praise Huerta for her decades of immigration advocacy, she also accuses her of assisting the DNC in distorting Sanders’ record:
…It’s race baiting, misleading, divisive and inaccurate and I hope you both will rectify that immediately. Regardless of either your interpretations of the event, the guidelines strictly prohibited any form of communication with caucus participants by campaigners once the caucus was called to order!
The democratic process, as it was intended, is quite simple: Present your facts, track records and plans, move forward honestly and openly, debate, call out discrepancies, explain and educate, then let the American people decide whom they would like to lead the country based on such answers. By distorting and omitting facts you do not give us, the American people, a transparent picture. You cheat us out of making an educated and well-informed decision and dishonor our voting process and democracy itself.
… Bernie Sanders, the proud son of an immigrant, wants to raise the minimum wage and make it easier for workers to join or form a union. He led the first civil rights sit-in in Chicago history, protesting the University of Chicago’s segregated housing policy; walked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the 1963 March on Washington, supports ending all family deportations; and is the leading voice on issues of income inequality, global warming, LGBTQ issues, and universal health care. He is transparent and consistent and has been, time and time again, on the right side of history fighting for all of us and our rights. He has done so, oftentimes when it was unpopular to do so, because he didn’t need public opinion to evolve in order to take a stand.
Read the rest of Dawson’s open letter to Dolores Huerta here.
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