Racism in Arlington, Texas

Approximately 300 neighborhood members marched in protest this past Saturday from George Stevens Park in Arlington, Texas to the northwest Arlington home of a Black couple, Broderick Gamble and his fiancée Silk Littlejohn, in response to a December racist attack on Ms Littlejohn and the defiling of their home with racial slurs. Both garage doors were painted with racial graffiti. The doors had been covered with tarps, but ministers in the crowd pulled back the covering to reveal the racist slurs. Gamble, who is rebuilding the house after a 2005 fire, told the crowd that the garage doors will soon be replaced, but the racist slurs on the original doors will remain and they will be donated to the Civil Rights Museum in Selma, Alabama.

On December 19, Ms. Littlejohn was hit on the face with a two-by-four and her vehicle was damaged by a 66 year old White woman, Grace Head, who was arrested and faces charges of assault, criminal trespass, failure to identify and criminal mischief. Criminal charges had previous been reduced against Ms. Head, but, not investigators are asking the Tarrant County district attorney’s office to prosecute the case using hate crime statutes, which would increase the punishment. The racial slurs were spray-painted on the garage two days after the assault.

This march follows a march Friday by an activist group “Enough Racism in Arlington (E.R.A)”, that marched in front of the City Hall and issued a list of demands to the City of Arlington. The group gave the city 10 days to meet their demands, or else they will continue to protest at major city landmarks, including the Ballpark at Arlington, home of the Texas Rangers baseball team, Six Flags Texas and the construction site of the new Texas Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys football team. The group has even threatened to petition the NFL to drop Arlington as a future Super Bowl host city. Arlington has had numerous racism complaints in the past few years.

The E.R.A. demands include; the City of Arlington issue a full page apology in a daily newspaper denouncing the brutal and racist attack on Broderick Gamble and Silk Littlejohn; establish a Minority/Women-owned Business Enterprise Program (MWBE) whereby minorities and women owned businesses can compete for bids to do business with the city; implement a cultural/diversity sensitivity training in the school district and city government; charges be brought against Grace Head for commanding her dog to attack Ms. Littlejohn; adding Ms. Head’s dog to Arlington’s dangerous dog list; and meet the demands of the family which include, the city compensate Silk Littlejohn for all medical and legal expenses; the police officer responsible for the reduction of Grace Head’s initial charges must be terminated.