SMU activists pay tribute to 12-year-old murdered by Dallas police officer 40 years ago

DALLAS (SMU) — Forty years after 12-year-old Santos Rodriguez was killed during a Dallas Police officer’s Russian roulette-style interrogation, SMU’s Embrey Human Rights Program will pay tribute to him by co-sponsoring multicultural events encouraging racial tolerance, accountability and justice.

White officer Darrell Cain’s light prison sentence inflamed the Latino community, especially after fingerprints proved that Santos and his brother were innocent of the $8 vandalism of a soft drink machine. Cain was convicted of murder without malice in state court for killing the pajama-clad Santos with a .357 Magnum while trying to coerce a confession from the handcuffed boy in the front seat of his patrol car.

“Santos’ story represents one of the worst cases of racism with impunity that white law enforcement officers could enact against people of color,” says Embrey Human Rights Program Director Rick Halperin. “The City of Dallas has never apologized to Santos’ family, and many are determined to see that change. There can be no healing for his family or this city without recognition of wrongdoing.”

Cain’s conviction in Santos’ murder occurred on the heels of his involvement in the fatal shooting of unarmed black teen-ager Michael Moorehead. (Cain’s role in that crime was considered by a grand jury, which declined to indict him.) When U.S. Attorney General Griffin Bell opted to not prosecute Cain in federal court, then-President Jimmy Carter tried unsuccessfully to intervene. In a letter to Santos’ mother, Bessie Rodriguez, dated Aug. 17, 1978, the president wrote, “The brutality and senselessness of the murder is reprehensible,’ and he was “deeply concerned and moved” by the case.

“If anything positive can be said about the tragedy, it’s that it was a wake-up call, one that served as a catalyst for sweeping policy change in Dallas,” Halperin says, noting the city’s subsequent introduction of racial sensitivity classes, bilingual education and increased hiring of Latino and African American police officers.

Riot following the death of Santos Rodriguez in 1973Rene Martinez, an SMU alumnus (’69) who oversees the District 3 chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), was one of the organizers of a related 1973 protest that drew an estimated 5,000 civil rights supporters. “There was never any question that I, and so many others, would get involved. Santos’ murder was in our neighborhood,” he says, referring to the once-thriving area near downtown known as “Little Mexico” that was torn down to make way for Dallas’ “Uptown” region.

Martinez says the rally was planned as a peaceful event, but near-triple-digit temperatures and heated tempers resulted in violence. Five police officers were hospitalized and many downtown business storefronts were damaged. “Dallas was in a lot of turmoil then,” he says. “School desegregation measures were taking place, and attacks by and on the police left tensions running high.”

The rally “had a chilling impact on the city,” Martinez says, noting that at the time Latinos made up only 8 percent of the population (as compared to nearly 40 percent in 2012) – and “the strength of our efforts truly resonated.”

As Dallas marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Halperin says it is important to remember the legacy of another horrific killing.

“Kennedy’s assassination was indeed a national tragedy, but its effects did not change the day-to-day operations of this city,” he says. “Santos’ shooting marked a paradigm shift when minority communities came together to demand, and attain, change for the better.”

Petition drive targets rule against renting to illegal immigrants

Opponents of a new ordinance meant to stop illegal immigrants from renting apartments in this Dallas suburb have begun a petition drive to force a vote on the issue.

The Farmers Branch City Council in November became the first in Texas to pass tough anti-illegal immigration measures, including a requirement that landlords show proof of citizenship or residency for every prospective tenant.

Area Hispanic leaders now want to put the issue on the ballot by gathering the signatures of at least 5 percent of eligible voters registered during the last municipal election.

"The strategy here is to be able to challenge this ordinance in a legal manner, to let the voters decide if this makes sense for the city," said Michael A. Gonzales, a petition organizer. "There are many people in the city that realize this is affecting them whether they are Hispanic or not."

The city secretary said petitioners would need to collect at least 726 signatures, or 5 percent of the 14,533 voters registered for the May election. The group's deadline to file signatures to the city is Dec. 11.

If the drive collects enough valid signatures, the council could reconsider the ordinance. If the council chooses to keep it, the issue could be placed on a ballot.

Supporters of the petition include the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Hispanic Women's Real Estate Council. Volunteers planned to go door-to-door and set up in front of shopping centers to collect signatures beginning Saturday.

"What we want is for the people to vote," said Elizabeth Villafranca, whose family owns a Mexican restaurant in Farmers Branch. "It doesn't matter if you are for or against it. This is so important."

City Council member Tim O'Hare said the petition process is a good check on the City Council, but he's confident voters would back the ordinance if it came to a vote.

"I don't think it will be close," he said.

The ordinance is set to take effect Jan. 12, but it could be challenged by several groups that have threatened to file lawsuits. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund is looking at potential legal challenges, and the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas plans to play a role if a lawsuit proceeds.

Gonzales, a former chairman of the Hispanic Task Force for the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas, said the ordinance restricting landlords from leasing to illegal immigrants would place an unfair burden on the apartment industry.

Residents believe the council operated in a vacuum and think council members aren't representative of the city's makeup, Villafranca said.

Mayor Bob Phelps said residents have the right to gather signatures.

"If they do that and the city secretary certifies everything, then I certainly have no problem with it," he said.

The petition does not address two other measures unanimously passed by the City Council. Those were a resolution making English the city's official language, and approval of a program enabling the Police Department check the residency status of people arrested for a crime.

Forget the hype, Dallas blacks, Hispanics bonding

Don't believe the hype about the black and Hispanic community at odds with each other, said representatives from at least two civil rights groups. A joint meeting, held at the Non Profit Community Center by the Dallas branches of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Hispanic Leadership Forum, was designed to show that a true bonding of the black and brown community is real and getting stronger.

"This is something special," said Derrick Bowman, president of the Dallas SCLC. "Today marks the opportunity to let the world and this city know that blacks, browns and whites can actually come together and dialogue to get things done."

With Dallas being a majority minority city, where the black and Hispanic population combine to outnumber the Anglo segment, it makes sense for the two minority groups to forge partnerships with each other, as well as with the Anglo population to form a true triethnic front, said Michael Gonzales, chairman of the Hispanic Leadership Forum.

"When we look at 66 percent of the citizens in Dallas being African Americans and Hispanics and that over 90 percent of our school district is African American and Hispanic, we have more in common that unite us than issues that divide us," Gonzales said. "We realize the trends of the way things are going. I believe we can do things better together. We are the majority."

According to statistics quoted by Gonzales, blacks and Hispanics make up 27 percent of Dallas' purchasing power, or $41 billion and comprise more than 70,000 businesses collectively. That represents a power that needs to be recognized and distributed more into their own respective communities.

We are contributors," said Gonzales. "If we can have the passion to develop the W [Hotel and Victory Park], Deep Ellum and Uptown, where's our passion to develop Fair Park and Oak Cliff?

Bowman said both the SCLC and HLF are also working together to dispel the myth that the two groups are in strong discord and unable to collaborate on worthy projects.

"The perception is that it's not happening," Bowman said. "We're showing that both ethnic groups can actually come together. It's a progressive as well as an aggressive attempt."

Bowman, Gonzales and Mayor Tom Leppert all took questions from the audience to address critical issues that both communities share, along with injecting how to bring solutions that will help move blacks and browns forward. Affordable housing became one of the topics.

"About 60 to 65 percent of blacks and Hispanics still live in apartments, therefore, we cannot create wealth," Gonzales said. "You see gentrification occurring where you had traditional affordable housing for Hispanics and African Americans."

Leppert said Dallas showing itself as a diverse and harmonious city among their ethnic groups presents a good image that will better attract individuals and businesses to desire to move here, giving Dallas a competitive edge.

"There are a lot of persons who want to see their cities, counties and countries succeed," Leppert said.

Two recent similar issues regarding the renaming of streets and buildings after people of color arose with both African Americans and Hispanics, where Gonzales and Bowman crisscrossed their support.

Gonzales and HLF are fighting to have Industrial Boulevard renamed after late Hispanic civil rights and labor activist Cesar Chavez. A strong majority of the public actually voted in favor of the renaming through a city-sponsored poll taken last month, part of the Trinity River Corridor redevelopment plan. Several city council members downplayed the poll results and backed out of going through with the renaming, which upset many in the Hispanic community.

Segments of the African American community were displeased at the last DISD school board meeting, when the board defeated the proposal to name the administration building after former longtime school board member Kathlyn Gilliam. The vote was defeated 6-3 with the three African American members being outnumbered by both the white and Hispanic trustees.

"Where are the [city structures named] after African Americans and Hispanics?" Gonzales said. "We know their [whites] history, but they don't know ours."

An attempt to end "economic segregation" was discussed. Gonzales spoke of several African American and Hispanic businesses that are "viable and have the competency to repay loans, but in many cases, these banks will not loan them the money."

In 2003 Dallas' black and Hispanic contractors associations signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly go after prime contract dollars.

"We want to demystify the illusion that blacks and Hispanics don't want to work together, he said. "We want to meet with Corporate America and develop a master plan."

That also pertains to the future redistricting of city council seats, which will take place after the 2010 census count. It was speculated that up to nine of the 14 seats could be black or Hispanic populated, 5-4 one way or the other.

In crime and public safety, Leppert said the city council has approved a budget where the police department will add 200 new officers a year. Gonzales and Bowman committed to help the city with strong code enforcement and to bring a convention center hotel to the city.

"With the leadership of SCLC and the Hispanic Leadership Forum, we can show from the top that these two groups are willing to come together," said Bowman. "Then, when we do this, our kids and grandkids can show that we can work together."