Posted on 05/27/2008 5:30:54 AM PDT by BnBlFlag
By BILL MURPHY
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Comments (304) Yahoo! Buzz The Houston rodeo has rejected a U.S. Justice Department offer to mediate disputes with minority groups who say it needs more minorities in high-ranking positions, doesn't give scholarships to noncitizens in the country legally and has stopped featuring Tejano performers on its main stages.
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo does not believe mediation is needed because it promotes diversity and does not engage in discrimination, said chief operating officer Leroy Shafer.
"At this point, we see no need to have a Justice Department mediator involved in this," he said. "We've heard (the minority groups') issues. We think they are all pointless."
Johnny Mata is spokesman for a group that has sought mediation, the Houston chapter of American GI Forum, a nonprofit that addresses Hispanic veterans' needs. Mata said he was disappointed in the rodeo's position.
"I am a firm believer in coming to the table and airing out our differences," said Mata, former director of the local chapter of League of United Latin American Citizens. "It's a sad day for the relationship between the people of color and the rodeo. I hope they reconsider."
The Justice Department's division of community relations service agreed to ask the rodeo whether it would enter mediation at the request of a number of politicians and groups, including state Sen. Mario Gallegos and the local chapters of LULAC and American GI Forum.
Boycott was urged The officials and groups sought mediation after some of them protested the rodeo's decision not to include Tejano groups on main venues at this year's show. The groups also urged Hispanics to boycott the rodeo.
Justo Garcia, a conciliation specialist in the division that has been working to settle minority-related disputes since 1964, said he met with rodeo officials about a month ago and would be meeting with minority leaders again.
The Justice Department has not launched an investigation of the rodeo, but is merely seeking to mediate the dispute.
If the rodeo and minority groups agreed, a nonbinding memorandum of understanding could be reached through mediation. It would lay out goals that the rodeo would try to attain.
Francisco Rodriguez III, director of the local LULAC chapter, said, "We are concerned that it's a good ol' boy system. We'd like to see some other people besides Anglos administer the program. We understand they originated the rodeo. But times change. It's not an exclusive club anymore."
The rodeo's 16-member executive committee has no women or minorities, Shafer said.
Of the 17 committees that control many aspects of the rodeo, 14 are headed by Anglo men.
A woman, a Hispanic man and an African-American man head the other three, Shafer said.
Of the 324 voting members of the rodeo board, 34 are women.
Shafer said he doesn't know how many minorities serve on the board because the rodeo doesn't track members' ethnicities.
The rodeo, he said, successfully has boosted the number of minorities who serve as volunteers during the past 25 years.
But volunteers are promoted in part based on years of service and donations, he said. Executive committee members have put in 37 years of volunteering, on average, he said.
Many minorities and women, meanwhile, are rising through the ranks, he said.
"It would not be fair to people out here to have a quota system," he said. "It's just like you don't go to work for Exxon and say you want to be the president the next day. You've got to work your way up there."
Got a late start
Mata said minorities can't match Anglos' length of service because they didn't feel welcome at the rodeo years ago, and the rodeo should develop a process that would infuse more minorities into higher ranking posts.
Shafer defended the rodeo's practice of excluding noncitizens in the country legally from scholarship awards, a policy set by the executive committee. The rodeo, he said, receives a glut of scholarship applications.
"We want our scholarships going to people who are citizens of the U.S.," he said.
Rodriguez said he wishes the rodeo was open to discussing whether scholarships should be granted to children of legal immigrants who do well in school and need help going to college, especially if the students intend to become citizens.
Shafer said a high percentage of rodeo scholarships go to minorities. Nearly a third of the 927 students who attended Texas universities on show scholarships last year were Hispanic, show organizers said.
Mata said Tejano performers didn't perform on the main venues at this year's rodeo.
"When you are deprived of other people's cultures, you are locked in a vacuum," he said.
Shafer said the rodeo stopped featuring Tejano music on main stages because "Tejano music is not selling. Everybody knows that except the Tejano artists producing it and a few activists."
bill.murphy@chron.com
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Most recommended comments 2boldlygo wrote: UTgrad wrote:
"They have as much right as you to express themselves however they want whether you agree or not. We are in America after all, the land of the free, right?"
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No one is stopping them from starting their OWN rodeo. But they should not have the right to come in and take over the product of someone else's hard work and demand special treatment just because of the color of their skin. 5/22/2008 1:26:12 AM Recommend (278) Report abuse
healthyLife wrote: "... doesn't give scholarships to noncitizens in the country legally..."
Really? Someone's complaining about this? Consider it one of the 'perks' of being a citizen that you get to enjoy some exclusive benefits of our society. 5/22/2008 1:51:21 AM Recommend (235) Report abuse
texan59 wrote: According to the rodeo reps, tejano artists were not booked due to lagging sales. The rodeo is a business and determined what musical artists would bring in the most fans. That was a business decision. After seeing the lack of support for the called boycott, it looked like the rodeo reps were correct in their assessment. 5/22/2008 12:59:40 AM Recommend (206) Report abuse
houcop6545 wrote: I agree with 2boldlygo...If you don't like how the rodeo is done; then either start your own rodeo organization or shut up and go to the H.L.S.R. The rodeo is a non-profit business. The members do this at their own time and expense. The rodeo should not have to explain what they do or how they do it. If somebody does not like how the rodeo do business...then don't deal with them. 5/22/2008 2:28:13 AM Recommend (188) Report abuse
hbualum wrote: It amazes me that minorities have so many coalitions and groups that focus on the advancement and education of their people; that they still want more. If we had the United Caucasian College Fund it would be considered racist. When are we going to lay down the burden of slavery? My family was in Ireland then, I fell no guilt! Illegals and the rest, go out and start your own rodeo. 5/22/2008 4:47:42 AM Recommend (137) Report abuse
Read all comments (304)
All are great reasons to SUPPORT the Houston Rodeo!
You mean, "until they pay the blackmail"?
Americans are generous, welcoming and kind to many people who wash up on U.S. shores, until the groups start demanding that generosity or welcome as a matter of right. Then Americans get their dander up and fight back. That is why these groups now prefer to demand their so-called rights through surrogates such as the ACLU or LULAC or MECHA or the U.S. government. Nice to see an organization not backing down from these tactics.
What does that have to do with a rodeo?
I am sure Senor Garcia is completely impartial and unbiased...
I guess Houston doesn’t have enough things targeted to Hispanics.
Nothing.
It was pitifully obvious. This guy must fancy himself a mini $harpton or Jack$on and wants to solve this area's problems by having everyone open their checkbooks to him.
He's seen it work pretty well for the other race pimps, but maybe the tide is turning.
He is the Mexican version of the good Reverend Al Sharpton et al.
Jesse Jackson got by shaking down NASCAR for years until they finally told him to go pound sand
Why aren’t there more women in the NFL or more whites and Hispanics in pro basketball? I think the DOJ should immediately mediate.
Exactly. It made Je$$e into a millionaire.
NASCAR is the first organization not to bend over for Je$$e.
How many white people have been president of the NAACP? I think it’s zero.
Yes you’re right, it’s a black group that teaches SKIN COLOR SHOULDN’T MATTER.
How many men have been president of NOW? I think it’s zero.
Yes you’re right, it’s a women’s group that teaches SEX SHOULDN’T MATTER.
When are we going to start holding these racists and sexists accountable?
Slavery is our legacy.
Slavery is NOT the legacy of hispanics in the USA. But they still think Anglo’s owe them.
Stay tuned folks. Our own little Palestine is growing right here in America!
Argh, I’d forgotten about that. Still, that wasn’t the title of the play. It’s just the cult of victimhood raring it’s ugly head again and waiting for Obama to...well, do nothing, actually. It’s not in his interests to do anything.
I hope so, but we've got the ultimate race pimp running for the office of president right now...
***I personally know several Asian and Indian guys who are really into rodeo and are p!$$ed that they’re not better represented in the sport. ***
If they want representation they should pay their entry fee, draw a bull or horse and buck him out of the chute!
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