By Hon. Lorraine Birabil, Executive Director, Dallas United for Progress
For African Americans in Dallas, the struggle for equality, respect, and justice has never been a story told in the past tense. It’s a journey we continue today—in our neighborhoods, our schools, and throughout our city. On November 5, we face Propositions S, T, and U, which threaten our progress. As we step into the voting booth, Voting AGAINST Propositions S, T, and U is not just a political act; it’s a commitment to uphold the legacy of those who paved the way for us.
To understand what is at stake, we can look to Dr. Emmett J. Conrad, a pioneering African American surgeon and community leader, who dedicated his life to promoting equity and inclusion in Dallas. He helped establish clinics in underserved neighborhoods and fought discriminatory practices in healthcare and education. Today, Proposition S threatens to unravel such progress by creating a new legal framework that would allow wealthy special interests to challenge anti-discrimination laws and equity policies in court.
Under this proposition, wealthy individuals or corporations could file costly lawsuits challenging city ordinances that protect fair housing, ensure equal employment opportunities, and mandate accessibility requirements. We have already seen Republicans do this nationwide—from stripping away affirmative action to suing minority contracting programs for being “discriminatory” to White Americans. If Proposition S passes, we will inevitably face these challenges in Dallas.
Our fight continued in 1971, when civil rights leader Al Lipscomb successfully challenged Dallas’ at-large voting system, which had effectively silenced minority voices for decades. His landmark victory led to our current single-member district system, ensuring that every community has a voice in city governance.
Proposition T would severely weaken our city council by allowing just 1,400 signatures—less than 0.1% of Dallas’ population—to hire or fire our city manager. We elect our city council members to advocate for our communities and ensure the city manager understands our priorities. Such a small group of people cannot accurately represent the diverse needs and opinions of 1.3 million Dallas residents. This proposition would return us to an era when power was concentrated in the hands of a privileged few, leaving our communities without meaningful representation.
At the same time, we must address public safety thoughtfully. There is no doubt that African Americans support public safety, but it needs to be done responsibly. Public safety requires trust, training, and understanding between law enforcement and our communities. Over the past decade, Dallas has made significant progress in community policing, with programs like the Community Police Oversight Board and neighborhood liaison officers building bridges of trust.
Proposition U mandates hiring 900 new police officers regardless of the department’s capacity to properly train them or our city’s ability to fund them responsibly. Former Police Chief Eddie Garcia has said that the department can only handle training for 250 officers, and about 190 officers retire each year—meaning it would take 15 years to hire 900 officers. This proposition threatens to undo that progress by introducing untrained and unprepared officers into our communities.
Leaders like Barbara Jordan and Eddie Bernice Johnson understood that progress is neither automatic nor guaranteed; each step forward came at a price and must be vigilantly guarded. Our strength lies in our unity and our ability to stand together. This is about legacy and love—for our families, our communities, and our future.
We vote AGAINST these propositions not out of fear, but out of pride and loyalty to those who came before us and those who will come after. While we may feel the immediate consequences, it is our children and grandchildren who will bear the lasting impact. They deserve a Dallas that respects their dignity, values their voices, and preserves the hard-won progress we’ve made.
Election Day is November 5. Vote AGAINST Propositions S, T, and U at the bottom of your ballot. We have a legacy to protect, a future to fight for, and a city to keep moving forward.
Lorraine Birabil is a dedicated advocate for social justice and community empowerment. She is the Executive Director of Dallas United for Progress and a former Texas State Representative, where she championed equity, education, and economic opportunity.
