Whatcom takes MLK celebration to Lynden

Associated Press

LYNDEN — This year, Whatcom County’s official commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be held in this predominantly white town founded by Dutch immigrants.

There are just 24 blacks among its approximately 9,000 residents.

"We hear so many negative things about Lynden, and we have to do something about that," declared Malcolm Oliver, a Bellingham race relations consultant and representative of the Washington State Commission on African American Affairs.

Oliver persuaded officials to move the event from Bellingham, a university town known for liberals and hippies, hoping to "get us out of our comfort zone."

"I am hoping that my brothers, and all the people of color, will follow my lead and get out there," Oliver told The Bellingham Herald. "I am encouraging people of color to go out there and enjoy Lynden. Don’t listen to rumors."

Lynden’s celebration, called "The Importance of Working Together," is "a great first step," says Mayor Jack Louws.

"It’s a tool that we can use for people outside the community to realize that Lynden accepts and welcomes all people," he said.

The 2000 U.S. Census found blacks made up 0.3 percent of Lynden’s population — not much different from the 0.7 percent for Whatcom County overall. Bellingham is 1 percent black and the state of Washington is 3.4 percent black.

There have been incidents here.

In August 1994, someone burned a 10-foot wooden cross near a migrant worker community several miles south of town. Two months later, someone fired a shotgun there. No one claimed responsibility, and no arrests were made in either incident.

Dawn Hanks, a lifelong resident, says her three biracial children have faced racist taunts here.

Last year her son, then 14 and vice president of the Lynden Middle School student council, was walking with a female friend when white teens in a car slowed down and one yelled a racial slur. His disgusted friend yelled back, but Hanks said her son shrugged it off publicly. Later, in private, he told her he’d been angry and humiliated.

Another son and friends of East Indian and Hispanic descent were also subjected to racial epithets, she said.

All three children — now 16, 15, and 13 — have since gone to live with their father in the Seattle suburb of Kent, partly because of the incidents, she said.

"They are relieved that they don’t have to put up with this … anymore," she said. "They tell me that they (racists) wouldn’t get away with that down there."

In a letter to The Bellingham Herald last spring, Hanks wrote: "It is absolutely disgraceful the racism my children have had to endure in Lynden, particularly when this town has a reputation of being a religious community."

The letter sparked immediate support for her family, Hanks said.

"For every one or two instances of racial discrimination, there are 10 that are good and kind," Hanks said. "But it (racism) is here."

Counselor Hattie Alexander at Lynden Middle School said the school does not tolerate harassment and incidents of racial taunts are handled promptly.

"I believe there are people that are prejudiced, but I haven’t seen it … any more or less in Lynden," said Alexander, who has also lived in Yakima and Portland, Ore.

Gabriel Stanford, a black man who has lived here since 1999, says he has not had any problems with racism — overt or subtle.

Stanford, 57, was born in Barbados and educated in England. He served in the British Army around the world for 16 years and supervised 16 white electrical engineers during a 25-year career at Granada Television Co. in Great Britain.

"I adapt easily to new situations and surroundings," said Stanford. "If the attitude is there, they haven’t shown it."

He has seen only one other black person on the street, but says he feels comfortable in Lynden, where he sings in the choir at First Baptist Church.

"It’s an individual thing," he said. "If you are going to walk around with a chip on your shoulder, you are going to have a problem. If you deal with people on a one-on-one basis, it’s different. That’s my attitude in life."

Stanford is aware of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and plans to attend the King Day celebration.

"It has got to be a plus," he said. "It would be a welcomed event."

Copyright ©2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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