Dear Mr. Steele- (email to publisher@fresnobee.com)

I am e-mailing you to call for the resignation of Bill McEwen. His recent opinion
piece on downtown Fresno is appalling. It represents a dangerous, tacit (I am being
generous here) endorsement of racism. How? Take the first line, that downtown is a
"sinkhole." Is it your paper's policy to support the idea that it is acceptable to
designate a part of Fresno as the dumping ground for the area's poor, many of them
people of color? Then, in the same light, consider the second line where McEwen says
that downtown is too "brown, too black too yellow" for most Fresnans. I wonder how
many of your readers nodded in agreement with that line? Is it your paper's policy
to promote outright racial discrimination?

Costs and "risks" are high downtown, according to Mr. McEwen. I wonder what unnamed
risks Mr. McEwen has in mind, especially since he led off referring to the "brown,
black, and yellow" people downtown. Is he not clearly playing on and thus
reinforcing pernicious racial stereotypes?

He closes his piece by petitioning the county to move its new library to Harlan
Ranch "where somebody will actually use it." Presumably the "brown, black, and
yellow" people downtown are, what, too lazy? too stupid? too drug addled? to use the
library? Again, I hear many readers chuckling at Mr. McEwen's little racist joke,
and I ask you, is this the policy of your paper? Do you endorse racist joking? Does
your editorial board think that this is funny?

Though I am white and grew up in a southern Illinois town riven by racial hostility
where I was taught to hate from an early age, I quickly came to realize the
disgusting ignorance of racism. Thanks to a long bloody history of civil rights
struggles and to a teacher I'll never forget named Rita Weiss, one of the first
things I came to understand is that "n" jokes are not the least bit funny. Quite the
opposite: they are ignorant and the precursor of race hatred, racist attacks and
lynchings. Doesn't your editorial board understand that? If it does, your should
fire McEwen. His little racist joke is the precursor of race hatred, racist attacks,
and lynchings.

I do not know Mr. McEwen personally. I do not know whether he harbors racist views.
I do not know whether he is sympathetic with racist groups. I do know what I read,
and what I read in his piece was an unacceptable, race-based jeremiad against
downtown. I spend a great deal of time involved in activism, community organizing,
social programs, public education, and just plain hanging out at our building on F
St. in Chinatown (an ironic legacy of Fresno's racist history). In my opinion it is
the only area of town, with the possible exceptions of the Broadway Arts District
and the Tower, that has any "soul, momentum, or vibe." I have walked and ridden my
bike through Chinatown at all hours. I participate in a community garden project
there. I have made good friends with neighbors, business owners (Helen at Paris Cafe
is, along with Margaret Hudson, the most generous, caring, and thoughtful person I
know), and, yes, with the panhandlers that Mr. McEwen so disdainfully dismisses. I
have never experience a single unwelcomed incident.

We don't want Starbucks or Linens and Things or a big box mall. We don't want
(no)River (no)Park. And we certainly do not want north side developers seizing our
properties to fatten their already stuffed wallets.

But we also don't want so-called opinion writers further undermining us and, what is
much worse, deepening the racial hatred that already exists in this town. Articles
like that by McEwen can get friends of mine attacked or killed. Fire him. He has
earned it.

Michael Becker

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Response from Managing Editor Jack Robinson jrobinson@fresnobee.com

Mr. Becker: Thanks for your email, which was referred to me for a response.
I appreciate your concern, but must tell you that you have completely
misunderstood Bill's column by interpreting his ironic rhetoric literally.
You also demonstrate that you are unfamiliar with Bill's writing and his
history here, as well as the values of this newspaper, which would never
support racist commentary by its staff.

By saying downtown is "too black," etc., Bill was making the point that
racism plays a role in the failure of efforts to revive downtown. Simply
put, he is arguing that many white residents of the suburban neighborhoods
avoid downtown because its population is predominantly black, Latino or
Asian. You may disagree with his opinion, or you may find his blunt approach
uncomfortable, but you cannot reasonably conclude that it is racist.

Bill is a longtime advocate of downtown revitalization. Those who are
familiar with the issue recognize that Sunday's column was part of Bill's
longstanding effort to encourage a rational and honest discussion of it.

The Fresno Bee owes all of Fresno an apology for the fact the Bee allowed such blatant racism in their pages. It matters not that Bill McEwen’s comments were lightly couched by setting up the comments with “The overwhelming majority of Fresnans…”

The fact remains that the sentiments were racist. Perhaps McEwen doesn’t hold these thoughts himself, but he did nothing to discount them. It is equally disturbing that McEwen, if he has his finger on the racist pulse of Fresno, as he seems to say he does, so nonchalantly echoes those sentiments.

I sincerely wish that McEwen were wrong when he writes, “The overwhelming majority of Fresnans don’t care about downtown. It’s too brown, too black, too yellow, or too icky…”

I will say this, however, it is rather disconcerting that there exist a climate today that allows for such racist diatribes to be made, especially to find their way onto the pages of the City’s paper.

First, the Fresno Bee owes Fresno an explanation as to why they would allow such sentiments to be published. Second, an apology, followed by a promise to begin combating such thoughts, rather than promote them.

I would hope that McEwen would do the same, especially if he doesn’t share the sentiment that he says the overwhelming majority of Fresnans do.

And if McEwen is right, and most Fresnans do hold such racist/classist beliefs he should use his column to strongly condemn such beliefs, rather than stoke the flames of racism/classism.