This Fresno-area chamber board won’t remove member who defended use of racist slur
The Kingsburg District Chamber of Commerce will take no formal actions against its board treasurer, Debbie Singh Forbes, in connection with controversial social media statements in which she appeared to defend the use of a racist slur describing Latinos.
The racial controversy erupted in Kingsburg in recent days after Forbes took to social media to detail a recent incident in which a customer at her auto body shop used the racial slur “wetback” to describe Mexicans.
Forbes did not respond to numerous requests for comment.
“Some folks may say I should have corrected him or brought it to his attention that the word ‘Wetback’ has a negative connotation or that it is horrible...or whatever you want to call it,” the post said.
The controversial post said Forbes questioned the customer on whether anyone had taken offense to him using the word.
“I took ZERO offense to what he said,” the Forbes post said. “He wasn’t talking negatively about me...about my family or about anyone in particular. Did he generalize? Yes of course. We ALL DO IT.”
The controversy prompted calls for her resignation from the chamber, an organization funded in part with public dollars from the Kingsburg City Council.
But, after several days, chamber officials said no. A statement released Saturday from the chamber said the incident was “not a matter for the Chamber of Commerce Board to decide upon.”
“Rather, this is a personal matter of misunderstanding, misconstrued statements, and information taken out of context that needs to first be discussed between the involved parties,” the board said in a statement.
Board members said they would have “professional” communications training for the board and chamber employees and would amend board bylaws to “include language that forbids unprofessional communication and conduct in all public outlets by our board members.”
“We, the board, cannot comment on whether Mrs. Forbes will apologize. A forced apology from a board holds no merit, it must come from the person and they must be willing,” officials said in the statement.
Kingsburg reacts
The comments on Forbes’ Facebook page pitted Kingsburg residents against one another, with some defending Forbes and others calling for her ouster.
One resident defended Forbes, saying the post was “simply saying she chose not to be offended by someone else’s words.”
The debate quickly escalated into a heated discussion on race.
“She is the last person on this planet to be a racist,” another resident said. “My gosh stop this madness.”
Other comments defending Forbes urged residents offended by the post to move away from Kingsburg.
But several residents decried the post for portraying Latinos and people of Mexican descent in a negative light. In a private Facebook page called Kingsburg Neighborhood News made up of more than 3,000 locals, one resident said Hispanics are “a proud bunch and don’t take being called (wetbacks) lightly.”
“Oh Kingsburg... we have so much to learn and grow,” another resident said. “Wish we could actually have more of these conversations with true willingness to listen, understand, and be understood.”
Some locals said the fierce social media showdowns on race online have made many Latinos feel “shut down” and “harassed” for expressing an opinion that differs from the town’s white residents.
Kingsburg, located 20 miles south of Fresno, is home to about 12,000 people, where about 40% are Latino and half are white, according to recent census data. The town prides itself on its Swedish history, anchoring its identity to an annual Swedish Festival and landmarks that feature Scandinavian architecture and a Swedish coffee pot water tower.
“The hatred and racism is outstanding here,” resident Tamara Norris told The Bee. “(The online comments) show emphatically how people get shut down if there is any difference of opinion. People are harassed, talked down to, assumed they are uneducated, poor — you name it.”
Councilmember Jewel Hurtado, the council’s only Latina representative, acknowledged those attitudes exist.
“I’m more than positive that there have been folks in this town who have encountered racism, and that’s not OK,” Hurtado said. “I personally do not condone the use of that word. It is offensive. But, moving forward, I hope that both parties address the issue, and the person who made the post can come to a resolution.”