05/06/2008
A South Texas town has abolished a segregation law seven decades after it was enacted.
The Board of Aldermen unanimously voted Monday to abolish an ordinance that banned “Spanish or Mexican” residents who were not servants or maids from occupying “any building on the American side or portion” of Edcouch. The ordinance prescribed a fine of up to $100 for violators.
Some 50 people showed up to Sgt. Juan M. Rodriguez Pavilion to watch city officials abolish the segregation law.
“We should have gotten rid of it a long time ago,” said Alderman Rojelio Garica. “It was there, but (people) just forgot about it.”
When the rule was enacted on Dec. 9, 1931, a virtual line was drawn along Farm-to-Market Road 1015, cutting through the center of the city.
Hidalgo County, where Edcouch,Texas is located.
“It was discriminatory,” Mayor Jose Guzman said. “At the time, our city leaders didn’t believe in equal rights.”
Now, the town is majority Hispanic and the segregation line no longer exists. The 2000 Census found more than 97 percent of Edcouch’s population was Latino.
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Information from: The Monitor, http://www.themonitor.com
Ann
