We must work together

The City of Dallas’ race relations have taken on new significance with the firing of Police Chief Terrell Bolton. The attitude of some citizens and civil leaders can be traced back to the early ‘60s, a time when segregation was still a factor in Dallas. Although times have changed, some refuse to let go of stereotypes and mishaps of the past. This has caused poor race relations in the city of Dallas. Furthermore, race relations have gotten worse.

For instance, early one morning I was in a high-income area of North Dallas to purchase an over-the-counter allergy medication. I was neatly dressed, clean-shaven, and had plenty of time before work. When I walked in, I greeted the cashier and went to the magazine rack. After minutes of an unlucky search for the newest periodical, I was off to the medicine aisle. As I turned, I accidentally bumped into a middle-aged white woman who was slowly rearranging the shelves. I recognized her, as she was the cashier I had just greeted. I granted an apology, but she didn’t respond and quickly left the aisle. I thought her behavior was very odd, but I continued shopping.

The medication was on the bottom shelf, so I squatted to read the tiny description and dosage. At that moment, I felt staring eyes upon me. I looked up in time to see the same cashier quickly turn the other way. She was on the same aisle and pretended to rearrange the shelf, but she made sure she had a clear view.

Why was I being watched? My behavior wasn’t any different from any other customer. It was obvious what was going on - I had been stereotyped the moment I walked in the door. She saw not a customer, but a young, shoplifting, black male waltz into the store and she felt the need to watch me. I stood up, gently placed the medicine back on the shelf, and headed for the door. On my journey out, I noticed I was the only black male there. Obviously, the clerk wasn’t used to seeing minorities shopping early in the morning.

Also, last month, the city’s first black police chief, Terrell Bolton, was fired by the city manager, and the black community and its leaders were in outrage. Bolton was terminated after four years of service, and during his term caused more harm than good. One month after he started, Bolton recast his command staff by demoting several officers, five of whom said civil service rules had been violated, and sued the city for millions. The biggest drug scandal happened, in which fake drugs (sheet rock) were planted on several innocent Latin-Americans. In fact, during Bolton’s term, Dallas gained the crown of the top crime city in the nation, [reported by the FBI]. Bolton later responded, “The city can reduce the crime ranking by keeping garage doors shut.” Even so, some black city leaders and citizens believed Laura Miller, Dallas’ white mayor, conspired to have Bolton fired.

After Bolton’s dismissal, African-American citizens and city leaders arrived at an eight-hour city hall meeting. Cries of racism and foul language filled the room. Signs presented by the rowdy audience contained racial slurs directed at the mayor and city manager. Did these citizens and leaders forget about the poor job performance of Bolton? Some still make this a race issue. Several black community and church leaders have filed the necessary paper work for the mayor to be recalled.

They must collect almost 73,000 signatures in 60 days.
Race relations will not improve soon. Dallas has been plagued with people who can’t seem to look at an individual first, before they judge. Those arriving from other states and cities are shocked by the way citizens and council members behave. The city shouldn’t forget the past, rather learn from it. Some need to be reminded that in order to improve the race relations, we must work together, with other races, not against each other. Then again, Dallas wouldn’t be Dallas without poor race relations.

(Joachim McCoy is in Dr. Nancy Castilla’s English 1301 class.)