SLO County supervisors clash over how to denounce racism after ‘white pride’ banner
The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors agreed on one thing Tuesday: Racism has no place in San Luis Obispo County.
What supervisors disagreed on, however, was whether to specifically call out the masked men who recently displayed an “embrace white pride” banner on a Highway 101 overpass in Templeton.
The board voted 3-2 to pass a resolution denouncing racism, bigotry and hate speech at its meeting Tuesday after debating the language in the resolution.
The resolution declared the board’s values of diversity, equity and inclusion of all community members, and pledged to foster “an inclusive community that celebrates the diversity of its constituents.”
Supervisor Jimmy Paulding proposed the resolution after community outcry against the men who displayed the banner on the highway overpass.
“Holding up a banner that says ‘white pride’ is very close to ‘white power,’” Paulding said. “I think that it’s important that our board specifically condemn white supremacy, acknowledge the threat that it is and its power to divide our community.”
“Expressly condemning those types of acts is in fact a step toward unifying our community,” Paulding added.
Masked men first appeared on the Vineyard Drive overpass in April with an “embrace white pride” banner.
On May 10, at least 100 people marched to the overpass to protest the hate speech — waving rainbow flags and signs with messages such as “diversity is strength.”
The masked men returned to the overpass with the banner on May 13, and this time it featured Nordic runes that the Anti-Defamation League lists as hate symbols. One of the men was photographed giving a Nazi salute as he drove away.
Just a few days later, a group of Templeton residents brought the issue to the Board of Supervisors, urging it to take steps to prevent more hate speech.
Supervisors debate if resolution should mention Templeton banner incident
A big topic of debate during Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting was specific language in the proposed resolution.
The original draft of the resolution included mention of the Templeton incident:
“The county has observed instances of hate and bigotry on the Vineyard Drive freeway overpass in Templeton, including the recent display of a banner supporting white supremacy,” it read. “These disturbing expressions of racism have no place in San Luis Obispo County, and have shocked the conscience of the Board of Supervisors and the community we serve.”
Supervisors Debbie Arnold and John Peschong said the specific inclusion of Templeton could be considered “derogatory” toward the North County community.
“Templeton is not these people,” Peschong said. “We’re a very diverse community and and we believe in freedom, but we also believe that there’s no place for racism in Templeton or San Luis Obispo County.”
During a break in the meeting, Peschong told The Tribune that law enforcement had informed him the men who displayed the “white pride” banner were from Tulare County, not locals.
Peschong said the important part of the resolution was that it condemns racism and declares diversity, equity and inclusion as a core value of the board. Removing the mention of the incident in Templeton doesn’t disrupt this purpose of the resolution, he said.
Supervisor Debbie Arnold said an amended resolution would focus on fostering the county’s values of diversity, equity and inclusion, while avoiding “name calling.”
Paulding, however, urged his colleagues to keep the incident in the resolution as context for what generated a conversation about racism and a need for the resolution.
“These are things that occurred in our county and community, and for us to just eliminate reference to these facts really does concern me,” Paulding said. “How, if we are not acknowledging our history, are we ever going to move forward as a community?”
As a compromise, Supervisor Bruce Gibson suggested the board remove the location of the incident from the resolution, but keep in the mention of “the recent display of a banner supporting white supremacy.”
Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg at first opposed mentioning the banner incident in the resolution altogether, noting that racist incidents have occurred all across the county, so there is no need for the resolution to mention Templeton specifically.
“We need to just work towards the elimination of all the disputes we’ve been talking about,” she said.
Following that, the board voted 3-2 to entirely remove the mention of the “white pride” banner from the resolution, with Paulding and Gibson dissenting.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Later in the meeting, Ortiz-Legg changed her mind, saying she wanted instead to go with Gibson’s suggestion of removing mention of Templeton and the Vineyard Drive overpass, while leaving in the rest of the paragraph about the incident.
She asked the board to reconsider the resolution, which Gibson called an “unusual but legal move.”
The board then voted 3-2 to pass resolution with the amended banner incident clause, with Arnold and Peschong dissenting.
After the second vote, Ortiz-Legg told The Tribune she wanted the resolution to pay tribute to the folks who protested the banner at public comment.
She said as long as the resolution didn’t mention Templeton by name, she was comfortable with the change.
“I don’t think to point out a town was necessary,” she said. “It impacts all communities.”
This story was originally published June 6, 2023 at 7:45 PM.
