Inside the Springfield Town Hall, Prior to Trump's Racist Lies
Before Trump lied on national television about immigrants eating pets, Springfield, Ohio already had a racism problem.
(A resident of Springfield, Ohio named William, whose concerns were “not about racism,” in his words. Screenshot of a Springfield YouTube video.)
The Meeting
On August 13th, a the city government in Springfield, Ohio invited members of the community to a town hall event for the purpose of offering public comment. Many decried the support they felt Haitian immigrants were receiving against what they themselves received. Others expressed concerns about out-of-town Neo-Nazi groups, one of which may have been the newly-formed group Blood Tribe, carrying swastika flags and guns while walking around town on Saturday, August 10th.
Unlike other local governments, Springfield uses a council-manager system of local government in which a city council, locally called a commission, serves and assists the mayor in legislating for the town and administering activity within it. Springfield’s mayor is a Republican named Rob Rue, who at the August 13th meeting, drew criticism from members of his community.
Before the meeting, a shelter in Clark County, OH, where Springfield is located, closed, leaving 40 families without a place to stay, according to reporters from WHIO Channel 7, a station from Dayton, OH. A early as 2021, Springfield was experiencing a labor shortage. The town was experiencing what Reuters called “a half-century of decline.” An influx of migrants ready to work and fill those labor shortages lead to an economic rebound in the town. From 1960 to 2020, the town’s population had decreased by roughly 27.5%. At the same time, the influx of residents caused an increase in Medicaid enrollment while apartment rent surged due to an increase in demand. Wage increases for the average worker stagnated as well, with rates going lower than Dayton, OH averages and U.S. national averages.
The first three comments from the meeting suggest Springfield having a dysfunctional local government. A property owner warned about “drug addicts” being on school property while elementary school would start the following day. The next individual, an old man wearing a red cap backwards with a long white beard, complained of not receiving information he was promised from city hall for the last two weeks. Afterwards, he asked questions regarding gun crime and the Neo-Nazi visitors from the previous weekend.
At this point, despite the audience being relatively quiet, Mayor Rue reminded the audience not to make any comments or they would “be asked to leave.”
The next man, identified as William (in the video, his last name is inaudible), made a comment that many people were gathered outside and were unable to make it in. His concerns, in his words, were, “Not about racism, but about lack of affordable housing, increased risk of public health and safety, decreased response time from first responders, the ability to go to banks, DMV, job and family services.”
He alleged the city was “not listening to their citizens at all.” He stressed the need for accountability. He called Springfield’s migration plan a “squirrelly deal.”
After his comments, the audience clapped, causing the mayor to say, “No applause, please, whatsoever.” This was met by groaning.
A resident named David Plant cited an addition of 20,000 new citizens against a previous population of around 58,000. He suggested the influx of new residents led to a number of traffic violations, such as drivers going the wrong way down one-way streets, ignoring stop signs, red lights, and causing “other traffic issues.” He cited a strain on town resources, both governmental and private.
He suggests the town had a responsibility to help the new migrants acclimate to their new environment by teaching them how to speak English and how to drive.
“We don’t have the resources to do this properly,” Plant said. “And that depends on how many newcomers are willing to adjust to the customs and laws of their host country.”
Alex Mueller, the president of AMPM employment, spoke to correct misinformation that had been going around locally about hiring practices. He cited the use of e-verify, which verified applicant information with the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration. Ohio, he claimed, did not require by law employers to participate in e-verify; he suggested the state should require that.
Mayor Rue then asked the audience to silence their phones.
Yvonne Owens, talked about a “makeshift shack” that had been erected near a bicycle trail. “We questioned them what they were doing,” Owens said. “They told us it’s none of our business.”
James Stuart decided to speak about the Neo-Nazi group from the previous weekend, simply referring to them as “the Klan.” He said citizens had the right to protest peacefully, citing several examples in American history when this had occurred.
“The ignorant and neolithic membership of the Klan is declining rapidly,” Stuart said. “And much like the people who believe the Earth is flat, every day educated people know the absolute truth: only the uneducated can believe in a flat Earth and the Klan.”
He suggested “the Klan” had staged their activities for attention and media coverage, without which, he claimed, they would “disappear entirely.”
Beth Donhoe spoke about an FBI profiler who inspired the show Criminal Minds, while also talking about serial killers. She suggested that serial rapists soon became serial killers based on patterns observed by law enforcement.
“Springfield has serial domestic violence offenders,” Donhoe alleged. “They are one step away from becoming serial rapists and serial killers. Listen, Commissioners of Springfield: you need to understand this connection now. You need to recognize what is going on and put an end to it. Springfield leads the city of Ohio in the number of yearly reported rapes per capita…yes, we are number one out of all 88 counties.”
Melissa Skinner asked for more information from the town government regarding law enforcement activity. During her comments, in which she talked about requesting information from a detective, Mayor Rue asked an audience member to leave for speaking out of turn. He would do this twice more during the meeting.
“Let’s bring Springfield back to what it used to be,” Skinner said. “That’s what we need…I just want my Springfield back. That’s what I want.”
(Glenda Bailey, a racist who prefaced her remarks by saying, “For the people I’m about to offend, don’t take it personally.” Screenshot from a Springfield YouTube video.)
“I attended the NAACP’s racism meeting and realized that what I saw was a political kabuki theater complete with a wailing Haitian, Black Panther style intimidation except in better suits, self-loathing white leftists and a ringleader at the center of it all,” Bailey said. “I’ve seen this movie before.
“The majority of attendees with non-profits, high-earning leftists, whites, the NAACP, and the Nation of Islam were all doing the same thing to Haitians: exploiting them. Haitians willingly allow themselves to be exploited because they want something out of Americans too. Non-profits want more government funding, high-earning whites want to feel superior to working-class whites, the NAACP wants more political clout [pronounced cult], the NOI wants more medicine and boots on the ground, and Haitians want to continue taking unlimited taxpayer funding.”
Noelle Bells, who claimed to be Skinner’s neighbor, claimed her neighborhood had become unsafe. She claimed she had men who couldn’t speak English in her front yard throwing trash on her property. Her husband, who had been living at that address for 45 years, said it was time to pack up and leave.
“I don’t understand what you expect of us as citizens,” Bells said. “I understand they’re here under temporary protected status, and you’re protecting them. Our city services are overwhelmed and understaffed. But who’s protecting us? If we’re protecting them, who’s protecting me? I want out of this town. I am sorry. Please, give me a reason to stay.”
The Aftermath
It’s clear that, whatever their intentions otherwise, the businesses at work in Springfield were not offering high-paying jobs which would disqualify people for assistance. There was no plan in place to house such individuals in units meant specifically for them- whether at a hotel, an abandoned property, or other structure. There was no acculturation program in place sufficiently designed to meet the needs of Springfield’s new residents. Nor were city services adjusted accordingly for a population increase.
Every indicator by data provided by state and federal authorities suggest Springfield was caught completely off-guard by an influx of job seekers. What was more, based on their previous decline, much of their economy depended on low-income work at a time when a local shelter had recently closed and rents had sharply increased: a difficult combination for recently evicted residents.
Those who express their frustration towards city hall are right to do so: local elected officials in Springfield were incapable of meeting the moment before by enacting what change needed to be made. The town was overwhelmed.
Those who expressed their frustration towards Haitians and immigrants in general, such as the Blood Tribe, the Proud Boys, and the KKK, got it wrong. The migration process took place over the course of a few years. Ohio, as a state, did not respond by offering reasonable solutions to Springfield’s new problems.
Instead, residents of Springfield became angry when their communities were disrupted, when neighborhoods they expected to be calm and quiet suddenly were not. Elected officials in Springfield, Clark County, and Ohio have not solved the town’s homelessness problem, which was exacerbated by people who had uprooted their entire lives based on the hope of obtaining a new job.
Haiti, as one of the world’s poorer nations, had 50% of its population of living with acute food insecurity as of March 2024. A 2010 earthquake in Haiti revealed many lack running water, experience negative health outcomes, and lack transportation. It’s a nation with so many struggles that even a low-paying job netting a person a place in a rooming house might seem attractive compared to the alternative.
Those who blame Haitians for causing Springfield’s problems, such as Erika Lee, whose viral Facebook post about a missing cat sparked Trump’s lies regarding pets being eaten in town, have misunderstood the situation they find themselves in entirely.
The only response Trump-aligned fascists have thus far been able to muster have been bomb threats, property damage, threats of violence, and constant, consistent lies. Their response has led me to believe that Trumpism, which is distinctive from American conservatism, is a movement on the decline.
Springfield’s problems started with a population decline during a time when the country’s population was growing. Now that they have their population back, the town isn’t ready for it.
There’s no easy solution anyone can implement immediately. Setting a high minimum wage and investing in small business ventures would be a start. Maybe someone can find the funding to open that homeless shelter again, too.
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