"Once again the accusation of "racism" has been aimed at our town, and each time this happens I am personally offended. Farmington is not a racist community. Do bigots live here? Of course. Some of these bigots have paler skin, and others are of a darker hue.

Just because an intolerant person might live in my neighborhood doesn't make me a bigot, nor does it make it a racist community. There are Navajos who hate Anglos, but I have never accused the Navajo tribe of being racist.

One writer complained about being the only Navajo in a restaurant. So what? On many occasions my wife and I have been the only Anglos in a restaurant. We still enjoyed our meals, and more than once we had pleasant conversations with Navajo friends around us.

Every Farmington business owner with whom I am acquainted values both Navajo employees and Navajo customers. I personally know of one individual who was fired for not treating Navajo customers correctly. Here in Farmington, Navajo people are represented in education, in law, in medicine, in business, in our city government offices, and in many other facets of our community. As I write this letter, a Navajo electrician is correcting a problem in my house. I do not see evidence of community-sanctioned racism in Farmington."

Get the Story:
Derryl R. Herrino: Farmington is not a racist community (The Farmington Daily Times 9/20)

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Man gets seven years for beating of Navajo man (4/18)
Man faces sentencing for hate crime beating (4/17)
Hate crime suspect pleads guilty to beating (03/28)
Navajo Nation pressure cited in hate crimes case (3/22)
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