After hearing about a Latino man being assaulted, community leaders want the victim to know, he's not alone.
"We're all in this world together," John Edmond, a local activist said.
"We stand in solidarity with you, we stand shoulder to shoulder with you,” Farhan Bhatti, a spokesperson for the East Lansing Islamic Center said.
Lansing police say it was around the intersection of Cedar and Denver where the man was assaulted and then his attackers left a note.
And the victim's friend says it was stapled to his back.
"It's particularly troubling,” Bhatti said. "Because it seems to have been premeditated, whoever committed this act of violence thought it through in advance, took the time to write a note to the victim, and they planned that they were going to do this ahead of time."
"Lansing has always been a welcoming community,” Oscar Castaneda with Action of Greater Lansing said. “One or two persons who do those things don't represent what this community is about."
That's why they're looking to spread the word that hate isn't welcome in Lansing... It's easy to talk about change, but they say seeing the change might be tough because...
"That will have to come from within that person," Edmond said.
There are deep roots of hatred that need to be pulled... And they say the best way to start is just by talking about it and getting to know your community.
“So you won't have that judgmental attitude," Edmond said.
