This past Saturday, the family of Manny Mayi Jr., activists, and supporters gathered at the corner named after him on 108th Street and 36th Avenue in Corona, Queens. They were marking 19 years since the Queens College honor student, oldest son of Dominican immigrants, had been chased over a dozen blocks and beaten to death by a racist gang who yelled racial epithets.

As if losing your son weren’t enough, Altagracia Mayi, Manny’s mother, who stands at barely five feet tall, has been fighting not just for the name of her son, who was originally defamed by local media who said he was chased from William Moore Park because he was tagging, but for equal justice under the law. William Moore Park in Corona, Queens is known locally, and somewhat offensively, as Spaghetti Park, because it formed what was the center of an Italian immigrant community. That community wasn’t so welcoming to the growing Latino population, especially Dominicans and Mexicans, that began to move into the neighborhood in the late 1980′s. I know that for myself, who partially grew up in the neighborhood, knew that the area famed for it’s renowned Lemon Ice King of Corona, wasn’t a safe place for Latinos or people of color in general.

Translation of Altagracia’s Words : I want to thank you for always remembering, in 19 years, the name of Manny Mayi. Like I have always told you, Manny Mayi was an honors student, a good student of a high quality that few of those people have. I am Latina and I live proud of being Latina, not like those dogs who commit crimes and stay as if nothing has happened. I live proud.

A report released by the Justice Committee [full disclosure, I once organized with that organization] found that police refused to drive around witnesses who wanted to identify the gang members who allegedly committed the violent act. The report also says police failed to secure a key witness and allowed her to flee the country; in addition, the D.A. postponed the case 47 times and did not keep the family informed about any developments. Of the three arrested, Joseph Celso was the only one who stood trial, but was soon acquitted.One of the young men involved in the 16 block beating death has since become a member of the New York City Police Department.

The Mayi family for the last 19 years has had both local and federal governments treat Manny’s case like a political ball with neither one willing to make a move in the name of justice. Most recently the U.S. Department of Justice told the family that the statute of limitations had run out on being able to file civil rights violations charges, sending the ball into the court of Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, who has refused to act.

As if visiting the site of your son’s death for 19 years knowing his killers are living free isn’t bad enough, Altagracia and other mothers like her see that Latino sons and daughters are still being killed for who they are, what they look like and what they represent. The word “spic” may have been used against Manny Mayi Jr. the same way the word “beaner” was used against Marcelo Lucero.

Translation of Altagracia’s words: They didn’t kill my son for being a delinquent. They didn’t kill my son for being a criminal. My son’s only crime was being Hispanic and I, I live proudly so as a Hispanic that these white people can’t even touch me with even the tips of their shoes. I will get justice, be it today or tomorrow but one day it will happen.

For more information on the case of Manny Mayi Jr. and how you can help visit the Justice Committee