Of course you remember the fight over immigration going on in Farmers Branch for the last half decade. According to this story (paywall), the city has spent nearly $5 million fighting to keep in place the city ordinance requiring prospective renters to prove they are legal residents of this country. (Several Federal judges have ruled the ordinance unconstitutional, noting that immigration enforcement is up to the Federal government.) Now though, Bill Glancy, the 71-year-old mayor, while saying he still supports the ordinance, is also promoting the city’s citizenship classes. He says he’s even looking for corporate sponsorship of the program, pointing out that, “People say we have all these illegals. Well, they are not all illegal. They just don’t speak English.” That’s the gentle side.
Dianne Solis’ story also includes an email from city counsel member Michelle Holmes. In that email, Holmes suggests that R.L. Turner High School “will not see marked improvement” until “we see a change in our demographics.” It’s OK though. Holmes told a recent meeting of Republicans that she isn’t racist. She just opposes illegal immigration and believes the school will be better with fewer minorities. See? That’s completely, totally different than discriminating against certain people based on their race.
22 comments
See, the great thing about racism is …
According to 2010 census data, Caucasians make up 30.9% of Farmers Branch, which numerically qualifies as them as a “minority.” Therefore (according to Michelle Holmes), Farmers Branch schools will not improve until there are fewer whites.
until “we see a change in our demographics.”….doesn’t get much more clear than that.
“I think all those people with the funny accents and weird skin color should go back to wherever they came from and leave this country to the people who rightfully stole it from the Indians… which they deserved.”
–Jeremy Goodwin, “Sports Night”
Maybe she is not talking about race, but is instead referring to overcrowding that will change as the cities demograhics change?
(Trying to hold straight face just long enough to hit “post comment”)
Michael,
You’ll be glad to know that efforts by FB elected officials has only caused a reverse effect. There are more and more “non-whites” moving into FB in the last few years. How can I tell? There’s usually 6 or more cars parked in and around the house they’ve moved in to and improvements to the property are usually not building code acceptable. But what does that matter as long as we’re one big melting pot.
Wow
Keep writing posts like this and you won’t get invited to The Dallas Country Club.
Despite the negative publicity that FB gets, for a middle class family it is not a bad place to live. Conveniently located, wonderful city services and a moderate tax rate. It is kind of like the typical family with a looney aunt. In our case the looney aunt is our city council.
And, regarding the C/FBISD the quality of education doesn’t have anything to do with minority imbalances. If parents instill in their children a sense of learning they will get a good education. If they don’t they won’t.
MikeR: Are you trying to prove you’re not racist or just explaining why you are?
The anti-racists here are shocked, shocked that a city would try to stop doing business with lawbreakers! Who ever heard of such a thing! How dare they!
Does a single commenter on this thread send their children to a majority-Latino classroom every day? And if so, how, pray tell, are the TAKS scores and school rating at that school?
You see, there’s this little thing called the “achievement gap” where on average, Latinos score way, way lower than whites. So in point of fact, yes, having more whites and fewer Latinos would in fact improve the performance of the school system.
And actually, all those wonderful northern suburbs with “good schools” — Allen Frisco McKinney Coppell etc etc. etc. — all have 90+% white school systems! Imagine that! What a coincidence that the “good schools” are where the students are almost all white!
Reality, facts and empirical evidence and the laws of the United States are just so danged racist! Let’s abolish the US Border Patrol and soon we’ll have all the economic vibrancy and peaceful harmony of Mexico! That’s the ticket! FrontBurner readers, show us the way!
Jason: I’m sure that’s because certain races are just smarter, and economics play no part at all. And I’m sure you don’t break a single law, ever, anywhere, for any reason. Because otherwise you would just be a racist hypocrit.
@JasonM,
Forget Farmers Branch. I’m waiting for Tim, Zac, Mike, and the rest of the white boys and girls at D to put out a “Best Minorities of Big D” issue.
I nominate Shawn and Monika Diaz.
I don’t know a thing about Michelle Holmes or Farmer’s Branch for that matter, she may be a total tool for all I know, but if we ever want our elected officials to be serious about social problems we have to quit calling them racist when they address issues of race. If she were not a Republican and not in Farmers Branch, say she was a Democrat at DISD and had said “X school will not show marked improvement as measured by the TAKS system with its current demographic make up” would Mooney have been so quick to throw around the “witch” label of the 20th and 21st Century.
Stereotypes are fun
mike: Yes.
To blame demographics is to shirk the responsibility. It assumes schools do nothing and that the only determining factor for education is race. That is racist, defeatest, and runs completely contrary to the purpose of a public education system.
Nutall is doing the exact opposite at DISD. She is pointing out the problems of her community and asking the district and her constitunets to address their “demographics” head on. You do see the difference, right? One wants to kick their constituents out while the ohter wants to help their constituents out.
I don’t live in FB and have never met Ms. Holmes, but it seems likely to me that she was trying to limit her comments to illegal immigrants. If we give her that benefit of the doubt, I see nothing wrong with her simply pointing out that it’s much more difficult to educate English-speaking students – of all races and ethnicities – if a large percentage of your resources have to be devoted to teaching illegal immigrant teenagers how to speak English. As JasonM pointed out above, statistics have clearly proven that point for years now.
Of course, it’s more fun to ascribe a more incendiary meaning to Ms. Holmes’ comments, and if she did, in fact, mean she would like to purge FBISD of all minorities (whether legal or illegal), then she’s a scummy person and shouldn’t hold pubilc office.
Ket – to ignore demographics is a fools errand.
Had you the pleasure of reading the full email Mrs. Holmes sent to certain members of the school board, you’d know her complaint wasn’t about academics in general or the academic gap or TAKS scores or the language barrier driving down test scores – unfortunately you give her too much credit.
It was the “scoreless football games we sat through for SEVEN years.” (Her emphasis.)
You see, it’s really about the funny-talkin’-brown-skinned-kids wrecking her stepsons’ precious football games, and (insert twang here) by gawd, yall, we will not stand for that!
If anyone really knew Michelle and the thugs that she calls her supporters, then you would know that “racist” would be labeling her kindly. Her supporters are well known in Farmers branch as racists and and anyone who gets in their way are destroyed. fortunately we have someone who is running against her in this election who is fair minded and trying to unite the city. Hope he can survive the battle when the wicked witch and her goons start the attack!!!!!!!!
Farmers Branch is a unique and great city, with great diversity and culture. Unfortunately, thanks to antics started by our former Mayor and seemingly carried on by the new Mayor Glancy, it has been known as the “racist city”. Peoply laugh at you when they hear you are from Farmers Branch. Mayor Pro Tems comments by an elected official, whether racist or not, border on sheer stupidity by an elected official and could very well damage Farmers Branch’s litigation efforts. How stupid can you be!!!!!!!!!!! Then you have the Mayor standing up there saying he wants to help the hispanic community and backs her for re-election! Is this the Beverly Hillbillies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry but white people are the true immigrants. It’s so unfair how they say “Go back to where you came from” Because, their ancestors are from Europe.