Just As I Thought

Ah, Texas

What would we do without the antics of our Texan brethren? I’m gonna take a mini-vacation there in a week or so just to chuckle and snort at their wackiness.
Here’s the latest giggle from the AP Wire:

PAMPA, Texas Sept. 11 — A restoration project at a county courthouse caused a furor when faded lettering on doors that once led to blacks-only restrooms was repainted to say “Colored Men” and “Colored Women.”

“We don’t need to be reminded what was done before,” said Bea Taylor, who is black. “We haven’t forgotten.”

County officials agreed and had the lettering removed Thursday from the two doors in the Gray County Courthouse in Pampa, in the Texas Panhandle.

“I can’t speak for the other commissioners but since the general feeling was people were offended, we decided to change it,” said Gerald Wright, a county commissioner.

When Taylor and other Pampa residents, some of them white, first complained about the doors months ago, officials said they believed they needed permission from the Texas Historical Commission to remove the lettering.

The commission, which had given the county $3.8 million toward the restoration, agreed Thursday that the vestiges of segregation should be removed.

“We’re pleased. We certainly feel that the right thing was done,” said Alfonso Vaughn, president of the NAACP branch in Amarillo, about 50 miles southwest of Pampa. “We appreciate that they had a thoughtful relooking at what was done and saw that it was offensive to people of color.”

1 comment

  • Gene, if you really are coming to Texas, please come to Houston! And be aware that not all Texans are idiots. As a matter of fact, I’m a transplanted Washingtonian and get homesick quite often, and I’ve been in Texas since ’78. Frankly I detest the good ol’ boy, conservative, bible-thumping, woman-bashing he-man attitude displayed by lots of Texans. But I bought a house here and have the kids and am not ready to move home yet…you know how it is.

    Wow- went off on a rant but that’s me. Come to Houston and laugh, and I’ll laugh with you.

    kat

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