update from city council on banning "n" word

**lilbeck** · 01-26-07, 03:08 AM

BRAZORIA — After a week of media attention showered the city and Mayor Ken Corley, the debate about whether a proposed ordinance criminalizing use of the “N-word” in the city came to a close Thursday night.

“Y’all have spoken overwhelmingly against this ordinance, and I believe that this evening will be the end of it,” Corley told the crowd estimated at more than 200 people at the end of a 75-minute public hearing in the City Hall parking lot.

The announcement was greeted by heavy applause.

It was not the first time the crowd clapped at a call for the demise of the ordinance, with most of those in attendance appearing to oppose the proposed law, which would have made publicly using the “N-word” in a derogatory or hurtful manner a class C misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine.

Among those who spoke, however, support and opposition were more narrowly divided. Corley was called an American hero by one backer, yet someone else called for his resignation if the ordinance moved forward. Many also said they were against the ordinance, but supported Corley’s work as mayor.

Saylaion Dunlap, a Brazoria resident, said the issue is important to him.

“I’m one that uses that word. I don’t use it in a racial way,” said Dunlap, who is black. “If this passes, I feel like it is going to put me in a bigger bind than I am in. I myself cannot afford this law and asked the council not to pass the ordinance.”

Bishop Ricky Jones, who supports the ordinance, said he believes there is an issue with the “N-word” in Brazoria because of all of the people who attended Thursday night’s hearing.

“There is a problem in this city,” Jones said.

Brazoria resident and Pastor Stephen Dunlap, who was the second person to speak at the hearing, opened his remarks with a prayer, then said, “I strongly oppose this ordinance. Amen. This ordinance is not the answer to our problems.”

He said that in 30 years in Brazoria he had never seen white people using the “N-word,” but he had heard black people using it, so he is concerned about how it will effect the black community.

“You can’t combat ignorance with fines,” he said. “Our children need education and not fines.”

Bill Lott, who said he has lived in Brazoria for 31 years, followed Dunlap and said the community needed to “unite and not divide.” He told Corley if the ordinance was not withdrawn he personally would file a petition to seek the mayor’s resignation, to which much of the crowd cheered.

Julie Gifford, who was born in Brazoria, said she wanted to take up for Corley.

“He has been a very proactive mayor for Brazoria,” Gifford said. She said she backed the mayor and council members even though she did not necessarily agree with the ordinance.

Many of the comments focused on questions of the constitutionality of Corley’s proposal as well as what the speakers perceived as a negative light being cast on the city by the national attention the ordinance has attracted.

“I’ve never known us to be a racist city,” Jerry Roy, a Brazoria resident and business owner, told council members.

Pastor Melvin L. Johnson of Brazoria talked about what he calls black typing, which he said is “taking and using the struggles and tribulations and tragedies of black people to pave your own road for things that you want. I do not believe Brazoria wants to use the community to become the first community to ban the ‘N-word.’”

Marcy Buchanan, a Wild Peach resident who owns a beauty shop in Brazoria, said she has three black children that she has adopted.

“If this had been an issue, I would have been the one to hear it,” Buchanan said. “Never have I heard any one of you, black or white, say anything about it.”

Bernice Smith, who is in charge of the African-American Heritage Room at the Brazoria Heritage Foundation’s museum, said she has not experienced the “N-word.” She said discussion of the ordinance has created an opportunity.

“Let’s put our words into action and be part of the solution,” she said.

The hearing was moved to the parking lot directly outside the front doors of City Hall due to inadequate space for the crowd in council’s chambers. A flatbed trailer with a conference table and chairs was set up in front of City Hall so City Council had somewhere to sit during the public hearing.

Corley thanked the crowd for coming and braving the chilly weather, which he said was an issue he had no control over. And while he was subjected to criticism by some in the crowd, he did not apologize for offering the ordinance.

“This has been one of the most difficult times in my life,” said Corley. “I have been subjected to criticism, anger and controversy all because I chose to address an issue of all color throughout the nation. I have never been prouder to be Ken Corley than I am at this moment in my life, as God has given me the courage and direction to bring this controversial issue to the forefront.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2000 report the total population of the city of Brazoria at that time was 2,787 people. Of that population, 81.95 percent were white and only 10.30 percent were black.

Desirée Evans covers Brazoria for The Facts. Contact her at (979) 237-0152.

**Piggybank Cop** · 01-26-07, 10:16 AM

“Bishop Ricky Jones, who supports the ordinance, said he believes there is an issue with the “N-word” in Brazoria because of all of the people who attended Thursday night’s hearing.”

No just an outbreak of intelligence.