It’s Official: In Fillmore, You Have to <i> Habla Ingles</i>

Delfino Mendez could not attend the same school as the white children when he was a student here. He was prohibited from speaking Spanish in the schoolyard. And he was not allowed to sit in the center aisle of the town’s movie theater--he had to sit on the side.

After World War II, when Mendez and other Latino veterans returned to Fillmore, the small Ventura County town was forced to change. The soldiers decided, Mendez said, that if they were asked to fight for their country, they should not be told where to sit in a theater.

Open seating soon prevailed at the theater, and segregation in the schools ended. But after “40 years of progress,” Mendez said, “we’re back to the old days.”

‘Official Language’

Last month Fillmore (pop. 10,000) became the first city in the country to endorse a resolution naming English as the city’s “official language.” The vote angered the Latino community and caused fear among many residents who don’t understand the implications of the resolution.

“This is a slap in the face to the Hispanic community,” said Ernie Morales, a former mayor and city councilman in Fillmore. “It’s unnecessary, irresponsible and, by making something like this official, racist.”

The vote by the Fillmore City Council, said Mayor Hulbert Cloyd, has generated more controversy than any issue he can recall since he moved to the town about 30 years ago. The resolution was supported by many residents, he said, because of opposition to the bilingual education program.

But, Cloyd insisted, the resolution is not racist. The council simply wanted to send a message to state and federal legislators.

“I’ve seen what happened in Quebec; I wouldn’t like to see anything like that in California,” said Cloyd, from a corner table at Hub’s, a bar he owns. “We got election information coming out in different languages and a whole bunch of other things. The chance of losing our language is a bigger threat than people realize.”

Joe Lovato, president of El Concilio, a Ventura County Latino organization, said members will work with Fillmore residents to revoke the resolution and possibly take legal action. The vote was particularly galling, he said, because the all-white City Council “rushed a vote without consulting the majority.” About 51% of Fillmore’s population is Latino.

When the City Council voted on April 23, more than 150 people--about half of them Latino--packed the council chambers to debate the issue. Rumors of the resolution had spread throughout the town and alarmed Latino residents, some of whom do not speak English.

Some Latinos, Morales said, are under the erroneous impression that they could be deported to Mexico. He said others have heard that they could lose their jobs if they are not fluent in English, or that they will be prohibited from speaking Spanish in Fillmore.

James Osborne, owner of the Country Cafe, a local gathering spot, said the issue is a popular subject for discussion at the restaurant. But, Osborne said, neither he nor his customers know exactly what the resolution states.

“I heard that they’re trying to take the property of all the Mexicans in the town, just like the whites did to the Indians,” Osborne said. “People say they’re going to kick the kids who are speaking Spanish out of school.

“Is that true? Can you explain what they’re going to do?’

The resolution is one short declarative sentence and, critics say, is a symbolic gesture that simply restates the obvious. “The City Council of Fillmore,” the resolution reads, “hereby resolves that the English language is the official language of the city of Fillmore.”

Supporters of the resolution say the City Council vote reflects a national wave of opposition to a bilingual society. While Fillmore is the first city to state that English is its official language, five states--Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Nebraska and Virginia--have adopted similar resolutions. And in January, Assemblyman Frank Hill (R-Whittier) introduced legislation, which is still pending, that would make English the official language of California.

Gary Collins, a Simi Valley policeman, proposed the Fillmore resolution. He drew up a petition, obtained 700 signatures and presented the resolution to the City Council.

“I see a fracturing of our society down language lines,” he said. “If nothing is done, I think you could eventually see a society where parents may not be able to talk to their children, where different cultures are unable to communicate, where even subcultures within one culture develop different ways of speaking and become separated.”

Collins became interested in the English language movement through his opposition to the bilingual education program in Fillmore. In several Fillmore elementary schools, the Latino population has increased dramatically in the last few years. As a result, more English-speaking students have been put into bilingual classes to comply with a state law that requires at least one-third of the class to be fluent in English.

A group of parents have lobbied for changes in the program, and many supported the resolution to “vent their frustration about bilingual education,” said City Councilman Gary Creagle.

Creagle, owner of a sporting goods and gun store, and several employees and customers engaged in a heated discussion on the merits of the resolution while a reporter looked on.

“I go to the laundry and the instructions are in Spanish,” saleswoman Kathy Roberts said. “I go to the market and I can’t understand half of the instructions at the check-out lines or read the listings on the shelves. It makes me mad. This is the United States of America.”

Creagle quickly interjected that the turn of the discussion gave the wrong impression about the resolution.

“This is not a racial or prejudicial matter,” he insisted. “This is for everybody. The United States is the promised land and everyone will benefit from a knowledge of English.”

Rustic Setting

Fillmore is an unlikely locale for controversy. The small town is off a dusty highway east of Ventura and is surrounded by lemon and orange groves. Agriculture is the dominant industry, and many recently arrived residents were attracted to the area by the lure of jobs in the groves and packing houses.

The language issue, which has divided much of the city along racial lines, was “totally unnecessary,” Morales said.

“It’s obvious that to read, write and comprehend English is of the utmost importance to succeed in our society,” he said. “No one needs to be told that; no one needs to legislate that. I’m surprised the council has the audacity to take action on something this irresponsible.”

Fillmore is confronted with a myriad problems, including a growing unemployment rate and a shortage of low-income housing, Morales said. The City Council’s time could be better spent uniting the community by addressing real problems, rather than splitting the community by voting on symbolic issues, he added.

PH