Interpreter Article_Dubuque Struggling with Ructions of Reversing a Century of Racism_11.27.1991B lk Hale
Postal Patron U.S HGSTnGE
PAID
Nov. 27, 1991 comer . ina
Dubuque: Struggling with the Ructions
of Reversing a Century of Racism
Few people would argue that rural Iowa
has ever welcomed minorities.
When she came to Clarke College in the
late '40's to sing, the by then world-
renowned singer Marion Anderson, was
foxed to stay in an on -campus guest room,
says Sister Xavier Cohn BVM, who
directed the college's Drama Dept. for
many years, "No hotel would rent a Black
person a room!'
The situation for minorities was not
appreciably different by mid-'60s when
Sister was taking a group of girls on a
U.S.O. rum of Europe. "I took one of
every type --a short one, a tall one, a fat
one, a thin one, a black one —because 1
wanted .every soldier in the audience to
have someone on stage he could relate to.,
Sister recalls, "The Black girl went down
to Roshek's or Stampfer's to try on a dress.
They wouldn't let her; I went down to the
store with my habit on and said, 'I want to
see that dress on her' --so there was
prejudice."
However, former Police Chief Robert
O'Brien, (from 1972 to '85) vigorously
denies the rumor that there was once a
policeman stationed at the train, who
instructed minorities, who might be tempted
to stop in Dubuque to move on. (Previous
Police Chiefs, safely in the grave, not
available for interview),
More shocking than the past, perhaps is
the present. A Dubuque businessman,
0
p'---- _ - 1- r-, --ter i lire ulpce in favor of a Black Man.
Minority group members 1n rural Iowa are hen 'sSteeth rare. Rick Coleman a
newsman for KWWI, in
posed a cornfield
ago to Illustrate the point.
for The. Interpreter one day a couple years
assigned by his company to the City within
'modem' group to preserve the stmosphex"
the past 5 years confesses he didn't believe
of Dubuque," he was told.
his own son, then a junior at Senior High
Not only did he not join, but put in for
when the boy insisted, "They're out to get
a transfer to another city. Having grown
the Blacks, Dad."
up in the southwest --Colorado, New Mexico
Initially he rankled at being referred to as
and part of California which was, prior to
an outsider', the businessman told The
the Mexican American war, pan of Mexico,
Interpreter was really shocked when he was
he says he misses the cultural diversity that
approached to join the Klu Klux Klan!
has always been part of that area--Smudsh
The invitation put a his son's complaint
architecture, street names, and cuisine.
into a new light. "Not the old KKK," the
The impetus for segregation, this
man extending the invitation told him. As
businessman insists is "not young cross -
he relays the story, the businessman's voice
homers, but old Dubuque money," refusing
takes on at edge of disgust "this was a
to give his own name or theirs for the
obvious reason that he would his own
company and its employees would suffer.
"You can't start a business in this town or
get the money m start one, if you are a
minority. Look what happened to Fernando
Castillano."
The man maintains that the Salvadomn's
restaurants --the caboose on J.F.K. and
"Femando's" in the old "Thunderbirds" --
on Iowa St. were boycotted by the local
powers -that -be.
The basic question is how did Dubuque
avoid picking up the 10 or 12°% minority
Population most cities its size have. The
City's largely invisible minority population
mas about 2%. Ruby Sutton, who works
for Operation New View, has been pan of
it for the past 29 years. She says, "Sure,
I have been refused service in restaurants
and businesses, but it has gotten better."
Emestina Moss, part of the Dubuque
minority community for 16 years agrees,
Cont'd on Pg. 4, Farley Pg
Farley, Page 4
77
a x
r
a
.rF _
i
Council Looks atl ECIA Self -
Sufficiency Housing, an Ice Rink
& New Memorial Hall Policies
An ECIA letter concerning
be Self-sufficiency Public
lousing Development Grant
'rogmm was presented by City
'lerk Inner Hingtgen at the
qov. 18 Council meeting. The
>rogram provides rental
rousing, school and babysitting
n low income individuals
while they are attending school
err training.
ECIA would build and
maintain the housing units,
including payment of taxes. It
is a straight grant program, at
no cost in the city. Deadline
for filing application for the
program is Dec. 13.
Holy Cross, at present, bas
approved the ECIA units and
Dyersville has 12 of them.
Clerk Hingtgen was directed to
find out the location of the
Dyersville ones, and Mayor Le
Vern Funke and Councilman
John Greenwood will inspect
than and report to Council.
Councilman Greenwood
acting on a suggestion from a
Farley citizen, inquired about
the possiblity, of a winter ice
rink. Farley Park Board
member and Councilman -elect
Steve Benda informed Council
that the Board is currently
working on a plan to create a
Had: in southwest Farley on the
site of the old rest area. The
area already has lights and
needs only to be diked to
contain the water.
Memorial Hall Manager
Carol Kelchen has expressed a
the need for updated Hall
policies. Rental times and
fees, clean-up duties and
building improvements were
some suggestions reported by
Councilman Randy Schroeder.
Council recuested that Kelchen
P
Cont'd from Page 1 they would go begging for recent statistics reveal that women ,r
I applicants outside of town. are now earning 54 cents for every
but another kind of discrimination. "The pGail Weitz, one of the plan's dollar a man earns.
problems that you see are like housing," drafters elates what many of Councilman Pratt noted the irony
she says. "When you go to rent an the Plan's advocares repeat, We of the whim males opposing the
apartment, it is automatically taken, but if don't intend to take a single job Consumptive Integration Plan and
someone else comes around and asks, it's away farm a single pesen!" She burning crosses, observing that
vacant again if the person is white." From csils the wild rumors and "An uneducated,
Moss' description the situation has become poorly trained
better on one hand, but on the other, a mtsmfa m-anon about importing white male has a better chance of
subtler, perhaps more difficult level of busloads of Black families which getting a job in this country than
discrimination remains. would be simply set loose on the a Black male, a Black woman or
ddress it, after the Eusr armat to look for jots and housing a white woman with a college
Attempting to a
cross burning in ddre a group of people a reflection of community racism. education."
calling themselves the "Constructive Mike Pratt, a Dubuque City However, apparently unlike
call
call k . Council member believes that McDermott and Troy, a majority
inteThe group consisted
Task Force"
e" bean meetin various community many people's reaction to the plan of Dubuquas admit that there have
leaders including Keunetla Gearhart, the rs 'a cover for they racism --a been injustices perpetrated on
ue City Manager, and two former method of hiding racism'. minorities who attemped to get a
Dubuque
Father Neil Tobin and Gail However, neither Bill McDermott job and take up residence in the
Castaid(Redden) Weitz and developed a plan l- nor his roommate, Dave Troy, both City. According to Councilman
take to take to the business and education of whom have ban involved in Pratt, "86°% of Dubuquers surveyed
the bi-mcial fights and am by the Vision 2000 Task Force, a
community. bumings in Dubuque, bother doing planning group attempting to help -
Their Constructive Integration Plan is a much to hide theirs. the City to great prosperity by the -
9-page document which says "Dubuque has Says McDermott, who was a turn of the century agreed that
the image of a closed, i¢tmerant and even guest on the Donahue Show in having a multi -cultural, multi -
reason for the increase in racist community; that image has restricted- g
speeding tickets, as shown on early Nov., "I think that the going
to racial society was very important"
our growth and development" It makes 9' sezuals and Negros are oin m Perhaps le are
the police report. He wondered g 8 g !s stand Just beginningno
about when these tickets were suggestions m ways m change that image.- min our country.- He points m m understand what kind of
issued and whether they were One of them was to consciously solid Magic Johnson's promiscuity, (as "important". While much was -
discriminating against young minorities for jobs that needed to be filled if only Black athletes are involved made of the plan to utilize "tax
people. out of tower in it) and talks about the moods of money to recruit minorities" it
Councilman Jim Lehman and Of the 6 Councilpeople, only Don Diech the society. Which is a bit of the seems that a lot less is made of
Schroeder both expressed the voted against it His reasons will ring tine pot calling the kettle from a man the possibility that the City could
in many people: "It's ridiculous m expect with an arrest record. suffer a ononic ramifications b
-purpose of the use of the radar Y
was not to generate revenue. taxpayers r help well-educated people get arty freely attribute the worse not integrating. to a given
Lehman said, "I still feel it Jobs! Our young people coming of out characteristics b all African- federal gran[ money m a given
colleges here cati t get jobs-" I>eich
should be used for repeat contends that whet the couldn't defend the Americans. At m whether lacy project g contingent on having a
offenders." Council directed y "feel bad" for the fact that Black percentage of minorities receiving
Hingtgen m contact police Program, the Task Force started calling people were once enslaved and it.
officer levy Smith about the People who criticized it mcist - mistreated in this country, both Dubuque Area Cbsmba of
report and make its wishes Also on the Council, Katie Krieg, who McDermott and Troy say they Commerce President Steve Horman
clear to him. voted for and is in favor of the Plan, points thick slavery stories are over says, "Were still trying to assess
Council dusted Hingtgen to out one of the subtleties of the Dubuque dramatized. Besides," they insist, the damage done to the community
send a letter to GTE regarding employment market "The frustration q never enslaved anybody. Why and the whole area"
the City's interest in a mom among the unemployed here is that they are should I pay for this? Why He blames the media and
immediate update of FareiyIs not appropriately trained for the jobs that should I lose a job over this?" "sensational journalism of men like
are available today."
telephone equipment. At Clearly, neither of than is going Donahue, "taking a convicted
present, the City is on the Statistics back her up. The Dubuque'I to, as neither the Plan nor criminal and putting him on
schedule for 1998 for such labor force, while well educated through- efficiency would call for going national TV. He sees the Plan as
services as call waiting and high school, is conspicuously lacking in outside the city to hire construe- very positive and reiterates what
forwardingindividuals with college and post -high tion workers, plentiful locally. the Task Force members and
Council would Eke to be able school technical training. If a large number However, Louise Wozniak- statistics say, 'Not every job in
of high-tech jobs opened up in Dubuque
forward evening police calls to Lorenz has tiled suit on the City this community can be filled in it"
Officer Jerry Smith, but as the of Dubuque charging that she was Perhaps the best indication of the
phone system currently exists, passed over for the directorship of damage to the community is the
it is impossible. Furtbaruore, the City's Human Rights Office. nose dive gambling boat receipts
businessmen in the community, The $37,000 a year job was given took when the cross burings picked
responding to the Farley Indus- to an African -American reemited up in late October. Owner Robert
trial Development survey, listed _ from outside the City, Charles Kehl blames it on competition
better phone service as a high- 'rr`ra" Azebeokhai. from Indian Reservation gambling
priority need. (: (Three years ago this editor in Minnesota, saying "tom bus
Cable representative Jim l applied for a job with the City of operators are getting kickbacks for
Temperly reported to Mayor �� Dubuque and was told she must taking tourists there.
Funke the Cable Worshop he < live in the city --for a part-time job. However, he does not explain
attended was helpful and The position was given m a Black by the kickbacks started all of a
informative. Temperly would woman. One Councilman says sudden and why Davenport boats
like to see more a couple more-,r�.,_� there is no residency policy and 4 didn't experience a similar dive.
people strut on the committee '' -• ��..People working there livr outside.) The ructions of reversing a
In other business, Council" - ,� ti\ Women workers may be the big century of racism may seem slight
-Heard a special report �l ,�,,,,//�., .losers in City's plan to integrate when compared to the economic
regarding the Ameneare with �'Y�' . �. constructively. Whether it can be boycott of minorities and they
Disabilities Act. '—�(i 1k attributed to the recession (women political allies.
-Approved two resolutions •. �"''� f! 7.._. -. are often the last hired and first
authorizing CitraPProval of Women workers may a the big losers in fired) or such hiring policies as
- , c,.. _. the Constructive /ntepration plan. Louise Woznak-Lorene suit addresses.' r
_ �. ,,.y(Illu,_ .. w -