By Adam Luna of America’s Voice. Cross-posted at the America’s Voice blog and at Jack and Jill Politics.

CNN began airing their highly-publicized series, “Latino in America,” last night, and I have to say, their coverage of the uptick in hate crimes against people of color was powerful.  The series delves into the racially motivated murder of Marcelo Lucero by a group of high school football players in small-town America and does it with a clarity that leaves viewers understanding what a hate crime murder really is.

CNN’s “Latino in America” series tells the chilling, now-infamous story of Marcelo Lucero’s brutal murder in Shenandoah, PA:

SHENANDOAH, Pennsylvania (CNN) — Crystal Dillman says she will never understand why a group of teenage boys beat her fiancé to death.

She says she will spend the rest of her life seeking answers — and justice — for the man she has lost as she struggles alone to raise her three young children.

“My life is forever destroyed,” said Dillman, who was 24 at the time of her fiancé’s death. “My family is forever destroyed.”

Her fiancé, Luis Ramirez, an undocumented Mexican immigrant, was walking down the street in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, on July 12, 2008, with Dillman’s half-sister, who is white.

A fight broke out between him and a group of white high school football players. He died from his injuries two days later, leaving a small community stunned at the brutality of the crime.

Here’s a photo from Crystal, of the couple:

Unfortunately, Marcelo’s murder is no isolated incident.

Hate crimes against Latinos have been on the rise for the fourth straight year in a row, according to FBI statistics, and Marcelo’s murder has been echoed in a number of hate crimes across the country.

This trend has many names: Marcelo Lucero, Mario Vera– even little nine-year-old Brisenia Flores.

Today New York Daily News’ Albor Ruiz reports on a vigil that took place yesterday for Mario Vera, an Ecuadorian immigrant whose family has been left without any means to sustain themselves. Mario endured a brutal, racially-charged assault in Brooklyn in late September:

Bushwick residents, elected officials and community leaders, deeply worried about the dramatic increase of hate crimes in their neighborhood, held a vigil on Wednesday demanding the city develop a long-term response to the problem.

They gathered outside Beth Israel Hospital, where Mario Vera, a Mexican immigrant, remains a patient after he was viciously attacked on Sept. 23 by three thugs who beat him on a Brooklyn street while yelling racial insults. The city posted a $12,000 reward for their capture.

So CNN is right to shine a spotlight on this very disturbing and dangerous trend. But, as I mentioned, we’re still left with the question, “How and why is this happening?”

Could it have anything to do with the fact that, day after day, immigrants are described on television by “journalists”, like CNN’s Lou Dobbs, as leprous invaders hell bent on taking over America?  Might this contribute to a political culture that has accepted the word “illegal” as code for brown, poor, less-than-human?  Pundits and politicians who gain popularity by stoking fear in those with some anxiety about our changing culture? (Remember that Lou Dobbs repeatedly raised the question of whether President Obama was, in fact, an undocumented immigrant.)

What do you all think?  Is half a story better than none?

Categories: Fighting Hate, New York, Pennsylvania

Tags: CNN, latino in america, lou dobbs, luis ramirez, marcelo lucero, soledad o'brien