Pubdate: Sun, 14 Jan 2001 Source: Dallas Morning News (TX) Copyright: 2001 The Dallas Morning News Contact: P.O. Box 655237, Dallas, Texas 75265 Fax: (972) 263-0456 Feedback: http://dmnweb.dallasnews.com/letters/ Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/ Forum: http://forums.dallasnews.com/cgi-bin/wwwthreads.pl Author: David Stevens, Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News Note: David Stevens is an Amarillo free-lance writer. Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/tulia.htm (Tulia, Texas) GROUP'S DESIRE TO HELP REVEALS RIFT IN TOWN Friends Of Justice Aids Those Arrested In Drug Bust TULIA, Texas - Six children call a three-bedroom trailer home. For the time being, they're also calling on LaWanda Smith for help. Two of the kids are Ms. Smith's own; the others belong to friends sent to prison in an undercover drug operation that ended last summer with the arrest of 43 people. All but three were black. A small group based in Tulia, calling itself Friends of Justice, believes the July drug bust was unjust. The arrests have resulted in a lawsuit filed by the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union, and a Justice Department investigation into the incident could take as long as a year. But Friends members say their mission goes beyond complaining about the drug bust. They have distributed food, clothing and cash to those directly affected by the arrests. "In plain old coffee shop language, we want to help the people that have been hurt by this. We want to help them in the courthouse and in the grocery store," said Charles Kiker, a retired Tulia minister leading the Friends. In this divided community, the Friends' efforts have not always been welcomed, especially by those who believe the drug bust was justified and that the Friends members are a bunch of outside agitators. Where the Friends members see Ms. Smith as someone who has given of herself, others view her as part of the drug problem. She was convicted of one count of delivery of a controlled substance in the sting and under a plea agreement received a probated sentence. Ms. Smith, who works full-time at a local department store, said she's getting by. She's had to borrow a bed and there's not a lot of money for anything beyond essentials. Some of the kids, Ms. Smith said, have outgrown clothes that she can't afford to replace. "They [Friends members] got their troops together and got Christmas for the kids," said Ms. Smith, a single mother. "Without them, I don't think I would have been able to afford anything." Support From All Over Mr. Kiker said the group has given food and clothing to about 20 families and 50 children. He says the group's members include a mix of people without political agendas, as well as drug-law reform advocates. Some support has indeed come from outside the area because of the media attention the Tulia case has received, Mr. Kiker said. Donations have ranged from bags of groceries to more than $4,000 in cash since mid-October. Mr. Kiker said some cash has been deposited in commissary accounts of the 22 people still imprisoned by the sting and more than $300 was used to pay off a credit card with which his wife, Patricia, purchased supplies for family members of those imprisoned. The majority of the money, about $3,000, remains in a Friends of Justice bank account while plans are formulated for its use, he said. Focus On Race The drug operation and the controversy that followed have divided this Panhandle farming community, Mr. Kiker said. "I have a good friend I was visiting with ... but when I mentioned this, he became uncomfortable and the subject was changed," Mr. Kiker said. "I guess they don't want to be associated [with the Friends] even in conversation." Tulia resident Sue Riddick said many in town view Friends members as agitators. "My frustration is they're pushing so much on the racial deal. I know there are whites [dealing and using drugs] who did not get caught that should have. But these people are trying to cause a racial division in our community that has not been there," said Ms. Riddick, a CPA who's lived in Tulia more than 14 years. Others say authorities have been unfairly scrutinized. "They have insinuated that the sheriff's office conspired against these people," resident Donna Malcom said. "The sheriff is a good, community-minded man. I've seen him myself hand money to people on the street that needed a little handout." She said not many in Tulia have supported the Friends because other area agencies and churches offer help to anyone who needs it, including the families affected by the undercover operation. "I haven't found anybody who is against helping [families of those arrested]," she said. "I don't know of any church opposed to doing what they can to help. They're not here to help just those blacks, but they're here for everybody that needs help." Ready To Leave Ms. Smith said the community's attitude about the sting has made her uncomfortable. She said she plans to move to Odessa and live with her mother as soon as she can. "If I could snap my fingers and disappear, I would have already done it," she said. "The only thing holding me here are the kids. They're waiting on their moms." Ms. Smith said she hopes the children's mothers will be released from prison early this year. Both had been sentenced to two-year terms for delivering a controlled substance. Ms. Smith had faced four charges of delivery, but said she pleaded no contest in exchange for a three-year sentence of deferred adjudication. She now says she was innocent of the charges but agreed to the plea because she feared she would go to prison if brought to trial. The ACLU lawsuit alleges that the sting targeted "undesirable" blacks. An estimated 10 to 17 percent of the community's black population was arrested. While officials have repeatedly denied allegations of racism, Tulia's black community remains skeptical. "What they did was they decimated the black community ... into oblivion, really. They about wiped this place clean [of black adults]," said Sammie Barrow. He said two of his brothers and two of his nephews were among those arrested during the undercover operation. Mr. Barrow, 48, said the black community is appreciative of the Friends' efforts. But he said the charity is only a partial fix. "You can only depend on people's generosity for so long," he said. "We need a long-term solution." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake