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The suspect in the #ElPasoWalmartShooting was from Collin County, one of the fastest-growing communities in the country.
In his lifetime, the majority-white county he grew up in rapidly diversified. And many saw that as a threat. https://twitter.com/keranews/status/1290290120504074242
In his lifetime, the majority-white county he grew up in rapidly diversified. And many saw that as a threat. https://twitter.com/keranews/status/1290290120504074242
A unique result of the growth that Collin County has seen in recent years is the explosion in its nonwhite population.
“This is just not the world they had imagined they’d be living in,” @utarlington historian Bob Fairbanks said about the shrinking white population in Collin Co.
“This is just not the world they had imagined they’d be living in,” @utarlington historian Bob Fairbanks said about the shrinking white population in Collin Co.
But the racial dynamics in the region are not new. Collin Co.'s growth truly began in the 70s when white folk from #Dallas fleed the city because of integration.
The vitriol for desegregation can be seen in this @wfaa footage from 1971. ( @SMUJonesFilm)
The vitriol for desegregation can be seen in this @wfaa footage from 1971. ( @SMUJonesFilm)
“Since the Federal Courts had ruled that the suburbs did not have to bus because they were outside of the city limits, the suburbs became very attractive to people who did not want their kids going to integrated schools” @utarlington's Bob Fairbanks.
According to @Dallas_Observer, after desegregation white enrollment within the @dallasschools plummeted.
In 1970 there were 94,383 white students.
In1979 there were 42,030 white students.
In 2008 there were 7,207 white students. https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/in-dallas-white-flight-never-ends-8265092
In 1970 there were 94,383 white students.
In1979 there were 42,030 white students.
In 2008 there were 7,207 white students. https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/in-dallas-white-flight-never-ends-8265092
. @TCU's @professormaxk says societal shifts like the "white flight" from Dallas are too often thought of as “race-neutral” or simply natural processes.
“You know, there's been an assertion, on the part of white suburbanites, that those spaces should remain white. Right? That they should not transition along with the rest of the nation,” @professormaxk says about the "defensive localism” seen in places like Collin Co.
. @professormaxk says white suburbanites will fight to keep their privilege position by using thinly-veiled racist rhetoric to rally others in their crusade to keep nonwhites from changing life as they know it.
Example:
Example:
Collin Co. has plenty of examples of white residents lashing out at nonwhites for trying to bring their cultures into communities.
“I don’t hate you. I don’t like your religion, and I don’t even classify it as a religion.” https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/proposed-muslim-cemetery-draws-opposition-in-collin-county/81355/
“I don’t hate you. I don’t like your religion, and I don’t even classify it as a religion.” https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/proposed-muslim-cemetery-draws-opposition-in-collin-county/81355/
Another example of whites defending their ways over newcomers in Collin Co includes the proposal & passing of an anti-sharia law. It was authored by State Representative @leachfortexas. He represents Plano, Allen, Richardson & Dallas. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/09/anti-sharia-bills-legalising-islamophobia-170928150835240.html
Activist Chris Vasquez is a native Collin Co resident. He and his family have regularly endured racist acts and words.
“They don’t see us as human. That’s why they use words like illegal aliens. They know what they’re saying when they say that.”
“They don’t see us as human. That’s why they use words like illegal aliens. They know what they’re saying when they say that.”
Vasquez said, because of that sort of language being tossed at him most of his life, he wasn’t too surprised to learn that the person who orchestrated one of the deadliest attacks against Latinos came from a place so close to home.
The @splcenter has identified several hate groups in North Texas, including white nationalist groups in Collin Co. Though @BBSutdallas professor Salena Brody says that doesn’t make Collin County all that unique.
So did the place where the suspect in the #ElPasoWalmartShooting grew up make him a killer? Probably not. But @BBSutdallas professor Salena Brody says your environment matters. And if respected authorities say hateful things about certain groups... that can have powerful effects.
