Two weeks after a killer drove over 600 miles to kill Mexicans at an El Paso Walmart, the husband of one of the 22 victims was joined by members of our community at his wife’s funeral service. Antonio Basco had no other family in town, so he invited us to stand with him to mourn his loss and celebrate her life. This weekend, we did, in the thousands. Mr. Basco has a beautiful El Paso family now.

It’s just one example of the way the people of this city have been and will continue to be there for one another in the wake of our tragedy. We’ll cook meals, raise funds, pray our rosaries and embrace those in need. And we will do it with the dignity and the grace we are known for.

But this isn’t enough. As the story of our city’s tragedy fades from the headlines, we need to demand this kind of grace from the people we’ve put in positions of power. This moment in American history must be our turning point — on hate, on racism, on guns and violence. This must mean something to us. Our values must be worth fighting for, or else, what do we have left?

Since August 3, life in El Paso has been a blur of tears, hospital visits, grief, surgeries, hope, funerals, prayers, vigils, rallies. I’ve had conversations I never thought I’d have in America. A middle-school girl asked me why people would hate her for being Mexican. A Vietnam War veteran pleaded with me to explain to the country that he’s been made to feel like he’s not an American because of his ethnicity. A grandmother wept as she told me she worries because her grandchildren have brown skin.