Former Dallas Mayor: This Is Not a ‘Black and White’ Thing

As a former mayor, I can tell you that there is no playbook to follow when some misguided fool bombs a federal building, flies an airplane into a downtown office building—or opens fire on law enforcement personnel in the midst of a peaceful demonstration. What I can tell you is that these tragedies reveal the character of a city and its leadership.

On July 7, our Dallas police officers revealed their character. Before the first shot was fired, the officers willingly protected the right of Dallas citizens to express their justified outrage over the shooting deaths of African American men. The protest was peaceful, with police and citizens marching alongside one another, some even talking, laughing and taking the now requisite “selfies” with one another. Then, when the police officers came under attack themselves, they sought first to protect those whom they serve. Before and after the shooting, Dallas police officers demonstrated tremendous respect and restraint, which other cities could only hope for under similar circumstances.

Our city leaders revealed their character. Mayor Mike Rawlings and Chief of Police David Brown have become the faces of our city—white and black—and have led to unify. Their calm and frank assessment of the tragedy that occurred, and their steadfastness in refusing to rush to conclusions that could inflame a tense situation, helped calm our collective nerves and laid the foundation for our city to move forward together. It’s when the unthinkable happens that leadership matters most, and here in Dallas, the city leadership has set us on a course towards healing and recovery.

In Dallas, we are moving forward. Onlookers will try to fit this event into their own meta-narrative of race relations in the United States, but we will not. They will try to say that the Dallas shooting proves this, or disproves that, or use it to justify their own ideology, but we will not. What happened on Thursday is not just another “black and white” thing. And the Dallas of today is not the Dallas of 50 years ago. For the last 50 years, we have been sowing the seeds of unity and progress that have allowed us to react with such agility to the tragic events of July 7. We have engaged in earnest conversation about the gross disparities in opportunities and quality of life for too many of our citizens.

More importantly, we have put these words into action. We have addressed the issue of equal representation in our political bodies. We have begun to invest more evenly in all parts of our city. We have carefully devoted resources to community policing efforts. And we have built bridges—literally and figuratively—to untether racial and socioeconomic divisions. Today, we are a multicultural and ethnically diverse city committed to making our city one in which every child can prosper. We are nowhere near the end of our journey, but we have made a down payment. That down payment that has allowed us to survive the events of last week without allowing our city to be torn apart.

Just this past Sunday, Black Lives Matter protesters and counter-protesters chose to stop shouting at each other, crossed the street and bowed their heads in prayer. Dallas police officers joined, and the protesters laid their hands on the officers. I am hopeful that we will continue to respond constructively to the horrific events of last week. We didn’t ask for this tragedy, and we wish it never happened. But our exemplary police department, our outstanding city leadership and years of working together earnestly have prepared us to face this tragedy together and have equipped us to move forward. We are proudly moving forward. We are, and will remain, Dallas Strong.