Leon Aldridge, Editor-In-Chief
East Texas Light and Champion
137 San Augustine Street
Center, Texas
To Whom This May Concern:
Racism in Shelby County is alive and flourishing. Shelby County is 66% white, 17% black, and 16% Hispanic or Latino and 12% other races (2014 Shelby County Texas Statistics). Current areas such as Union Acres and The Quarters are micro sized sub-divisions that are looked down upon by the middle-class, mostly white community. For example, annually the community conducts an MLK March which starts in town around our square and the historical lynching tree. In November 2013, the city began street repair during the March so it had to be rerouted. The repairs lasted from 2013 till late September 2014. Transportation, including bus routes were thrown off, causing many to walk for miles. These communities are unkempt and uncared for. It has been addressed during several city meetings without response or action. Now its 2016 and many things have changed. This year for the MLK march my community marched around the square and other neighborhoods celebrating Martin Luther King’s vision.
I am advocating because people of color in many rural places have little choice as to where they reside because of the racism in our community. My hope is to improve the social conditions, to meet the basic human needs of all residents of our city, and promote a community of justice. I confess I am not a literary scholar, however an individual who thinks every person, group, or class deserves equality. Please respond with your story or share the stories that you have seen and heard in last five years.
Sincerely,
LaKia Shepherd
