When the Local and the Global Are Too Close for Comfort

Authors

Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes, The University Of Michigan

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Fall 2001

Abstract

In the early morning of August 15, 2001, Edgar Garzon, a 35-year-old Latino gay man better know as "Eddie," was viciously attacked with a "blunt instrument" by an unidentified assailant who jumped out of a red car. This occurred in Jackson Heights, Queens, an extremely diverse neighborhood with large concentrations of Latin Americans, Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Koreans and a sizeable gay population. Garzon suffered three fractures in his cranium and was in a coma until September 4, when he passed away at Elmhurst Medical Center. His family, who reside mostly in Colombia and Florida, as well as his close friends, were by his side at the moment of his death; local Latino and Latina gay activists, as well as New York City politicians and concerned community members, held a silent candlelight vigil on September 6 and have cooperated extensively with the police in trying to solve the attack and murder, which has been referred to the department's Hate Crimes Task Force for investigation as a possible bias attack.

Comments

This article was originally published in CLAGSNews, vol. 11, no. 3.