Austin American-Statesman, Alberta Phillips column

April 06--Fifty years ago, when the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, some cities erupted in fiery riots as the nation mourned his death. In Austin, days after King was slain, voters went to the polls to make Wilhelmina Delco the first African-American elected to the Austin Independent School Board. That was 1968. Later, Delco would be elected to the Legislature.

Under the flag of progressive politics, Austin and Travis County Democrats might well be on the verge of turning back the clock by eliminating the only African-American voice in the legislative seat Delco once held.

The seat -- House District 46 -- like other elected posts, has served as a symbol of the party's commitment to racial equity and a belief that all voices are needed at the table of government, from school board to the Capitol.

Following Delco's victory, Gus Garcia, in 1972, became the first Hispanic elected to the school board. Later in 2001, he became the first Latino elected Austin mayor. Gonzalo Barrientos also broke barriers when he was elected first to the Texas House in 1974, and later to the Senate in 1984.

Those victories weren't flukes. They were orchestrated by a coalition of white, Hispanic and African-American Democrats with common interests who helped elect progressive Democrats of all colors, including Lloyd Doggett to the Congress; Kirk Watson to the state senate; Gina Hinojosa to the Austin school board; Sam Biscoe to the Travis County Commissioners Court; and Sheryl Cole, Kathie Tovo and the late John Treviño to the Austin City Council when all council members were elected at-large.

But the May 22 runoff race for House District 46 is threatening to derail that longstanding coalition as two people of color vie for the seat: Cole, who is African-American, is competing with Jose "Chito" Vela III, an Austin attorney who is Latino.

The seat has been held by an African-American since Delco won it 43 years ago, but Vela's strong performance in the March 6 primary puts that legacy at risk. He finished slightly ahead of Cole in a race that ended the re-election bid of 12-term incumbent Dawnna Dukes. She lost favor with voters amid controversies over ethics and performance issues.

The demographics of the district have changed, with Hispanic residents outnumbering African-Americans, though the district still has the city's largest black population. The redistricting plan in place for 2012 and beyond aimed to elect an African-American, an outcome that relied on support of a multiracial coalition.

The importance of having an experienced, competent African-American voice in the Travis County Democratic delegation -- it includes four Latinos and two whites -- cannot be overstated, especially when the Legislature meets again in 2019. Then, it will be dealing with women's health and reproductive rights, criminal justice reform, gay rights and public education -- all areas Cole cut her teeth on and successfully steered through the City Council.

Her work is recognized by Planned Parenthood, whose political arm, Planned Parenthood Votes, endorsed Cole in recent weeks, saying her voice and courage in the fight for women's health care are "needed in the Texas Legislature now more than ever."

Vela, a former board chairman of the Workers Defense Fund, is making his first run for elected office. He has painted himself as the firebrand in the race -- and Cole as the establishment candidate, focusing on her post-City Council work as a lobbyist for public and private entities.

In the age of Trump, that message has struck a chord with Democratic Party activists -- many who are newcomers to Austin and House District 46. They view Austin as a progressive mecca, including in matters of race.

That is naïve. It fails to recognize Austin's racial realities as a city still recovering from the vestiges of slavery and Jim Crow -- and city still grappling with fallout over the infamous 1928 "Negro District" city plan that heaped another 70 years of racial segregation, degradation and injustice on Austin's black residents.

Consider that court-ordered desegregation of Austin schools happened a little over 30 years ago. And a 2018 report co-authored by University of Texas professor Eric Tang spells out the economic and social damage to today's black community brought on by gentrification.

Those dynamics have brought state and national attention to the race while straining relations between traditional Austin Democrats who have supported coalition politics and many party activists who have prioritized immigration and workers' rights above all other matters. Vela, an immigration and criminal defense lawyer, fits with their political views.

Cole fits with those who believe diversity still is a key ingredient in the political stew that makes up Austin and Travis County.

Delco said this in a 2001 interview for an oral history project: "I will always believe that I was elected (to the school board) because the election took place two days after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

"The strong emotional pull of that convinced people that it was time to have someone to represent a heretofore unrepresented community in light of ... the perception that Austin was the kind of community that nurtured that kind of diversity."

Fifty years later, Austin faces the question of whether it's still that kind of community.

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