When housing authority board member Don Davidson recommended at the most recent meeting that those in attendance read Bill Cosby's commentary in the newspaper, saying "that's what the Housing Authority should do with education," fellow board member Beatrice Turner's face began turning purple. She jerked her body and faced the board's legal counsel and puffed her cheeks out, eyes bulging, in an effort to keep breathing. Cosby has been criticizing the African-American community for criminal activity, high-school drop-out rates, teen pregnancy and poor grammar, among other things. Perhaps not the least controversial thing for Davidson (who's white) to bring up in a meeting where racial division and accusations of poor service and corruption rattle the foundation of the agency. Las Vegas Constable Robert "Bobby G" Gronauer, chairman of the housing authority board since June, sensed the tension and urged them to move on. "Point well taken," he said, repeatedly.
But then came his turn. After a brief discussion on an agenda item regarding water rights, resident advocate Pat Brown took the mike to share some of her thoughts. She was told to sit down, that her name wasn't on the list to speak. Brown protested, saying she'd called earlier to have her name put on every item. When she refused to sit, Gronauer threatened to call the cops. "He's a dictator!" Brown shouted. "You're not part of no democracy. Before that item came up, you had no problem with me saying anything." He asked her again to sit down.
She looked up at Turner, the only African-American on the board. "He didn't want to pay you," Brown said. "He didn't even want to pay you, and it wasn't because you don't do the work. It's because you're black."
Turner calmly gazed back at her. "Ms. Brown," she said. "Shhh."
The security guard, who was not only smaller than Brown, but also works for the company that, moments earlier, she had spoken out against paying because they've done nothing but get residents killed, walked up to her. The man stared her straight in the eye and asked her to sit down. "No," she said. Gronauer threatened to call the police. Security backed down.
"This is a public meeting!" Brown shouted. "You can't do that!," Turner chimed in. And Brown marched back to her seat, where she remained, head held high, for the rest of the meeting. She was left alone, not even reprimanded when she shouted from her seat.
After the meeting, Brown, Turner and some other people talked animatedly outside. A cop car drove by and stopped a few hundred feet away, where the policeman talked with a fellow officer; they might have been the ones to respond had Bobby G. really called for backup. Neither seemed interested in the woman who wanted to say her piece at a public meeting.