A march that began from Pike Park near downtown Dallas Sunday evening honored Santos Rodriguez, a 12-year-old boy shot and killed by a Dalas police officer 50 years ago.
Yfat Yossifor
Dallas residents turned out Sunday evening to march in support of Santos Rodriguez, a 12-year-old boy who was fatally shot by a Dallas police officer 50 years ago.
The march started and ended in Pike Park near downtown Dallas.
"Santos Rodriguez was a 12-year-old boy that was rousted from his bed at 2 in the morning, handcuffed, thrown into a squad car, driven a few blocks from his house...very close to where we are standing," said Hadi Jawad, a community leader who’s helped organized events marking Rodriguez' death. "And in a game of Russian roulette, an officer seeking to get a confession out of him ... murdered him."
Jawad said there are still deep wounds to the Latino community that lived in the area then known as Little Mexico.
"We have come a long way," he said. "But Dallas still has a long, long way to go."
Sunday's commemoration included the march, a religious ceremony and performances by ceremonial dancers. Joaquin Zihuatanejo, Dallas' poet laureate, prepared a special poem for the occasion. Community leaders and activists shared their thoughts about the legacy of the shooting.
Educator and activist Jose Villarreal said his feelings on Sunday included sadness "and a feeling of anger, because we know that if we don't get out in the street and protest, these killings of innocent, unarmed men will continue."
Ehan Martinez helps his daughter Nathalia, 10, with the Mitotiliztli Yaoyollohtli Aztec dance company, put on a bracelet shortly before a march and memorial service for Santos Rodriguez, fifty years after he was fatally shot by a Dallas police officer.
Yfat Yossifor
A statue honoring Santos Rodriguez in Pike Park near downtown Dallas. The sculpture was unveiled in February 2022.
Yfat Yossifor
Flowers and a candle are left at a statue honoring Santos Rodriguez on Sunday in Pike Park, not long before a march to honor the 12-year-old boy killed by a Dallas police officer 50 years ago.
Yfat Yossifor
Signs and flags adorn the fence in Pike Park as marchers prepare to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of 12-year-old Santos Rodriguez.
Yfat Yossifor
Participants march for Santos Rodriguez 50th Anniversary Commemoration Sunday, July 23, 2023, Pike Park near downtown Dallas. Rodriguez was a 12-year-old Mexican American boy who was shot and killed by a white Dallas police officer.
Yfat Yossifor
Members of the Mitotiliztli Yaoyollohtli Aztec dance company line up for the march for Santos Rodriguez 50th Anniversary Commemoration Sunday, July 23, 2023, Pike Park near downtown Dallas.
Yfat Yossifor
Educator and activist Jose Villarreal holds a flag while marching for Santos Rodriguez at a march and commemoration Sunday. “We will continue to resist until we create a better county for all human kind,” he said before the march.
Yfat Yossifor
A member of the Mitotiliztli Yaoyollohtli Aztec dance company lined up for Sunday's march honoring Santos Rodriguez.
Yfat Yossifor
Members of the Mitotiliztli Yaoyollohtli Aztec dance company lead the marchers down Harry Hines Blvd. for Santos Rodriguez 50th Anniversary Commemoration Sunday, July 23, 2023, Pike Park near downtown Dallas.
Yfat Yossifor
Sunday's march honoring Santos Rodriguez included performances by the Mitotiliztli Yaoyollohtli Aztec dance company.
Yfat Yossifor
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Yfat Yossifor is a visual journalist joining KERA’s audience team. Yfat previously worked in Fort Worth as well as newsrooms in Michigan and Arizona. When Yfat is not out on assignment, she is out hiking enjoying nature or playing with her rescue dog.