Tulia is a city in, and county seat of, Swisher County, Texas, United States.[3] The population was 5,117 at the 2000 census; in the 2005 census estimate, it had fallen to 4,714.[4] The city is at the junction of U.S. Route 87 and Texas State Highway 86, approximately two miles east Interstate 27.
History
1999 drug arrests
Tulia gained notoriety following a drug sting in July 1999 that rounded up 46 people, forty of whom were African Americans. The remaining detainees were White people known to have ties within the Black community, and in fact lived in the "Black" part of town. Nearly one in three of Tulia's Black males was arrested, about 15% of the town's Black population.[5][6] All charges were based on the word of undercover officer Tom Coleman, a so called "gypsy cop" who made his living traveling through impoverished rural Texas offering to work undercover cheaply for short periods of time for underfunded police departments. Coleman claimed to have made over one hundred drug buys in the small town, essentially an impossible feat for an undercover officer working alone. He never recorded any of the sales, but claimed to have written painstaking notes on his leg under his shorts and upper arm under his shirt sleeve when nobody was looking.
During the roundup, no large sums of money, illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia, or illegal weapons were found. The accused drug dealers showed no signs of having any income associated with selling drugs. The drugs Coleman claimed to have bought from the accused did not have the fingerprints of the accused on them or their baggies. No independent witnesses could corroborate Coleman's claims. In his testimony, Coleman gave inaccurate descriptions of the "dealers" he had allegedly bought cocaine from. One suspect had his charges dropped when he was able to prove he had been at work during the times he had supposedly sold Coleman cocaine. Another produced bank and phone records indicating she was in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at the time of her alleged crime. Many of the accused, however, seeing the long sentences dealt out by all-White juries in the earliest cases, pled guilty in return for lesser sentences, despite their proclaimed innocence. The remaining defendants were convicted solely on the basis of Coleman's testimony. John Cornyn, the state attorney general, awarded "Lawman of the Year" to Coleman.[7][8]
Amarillo civil rights attorney Jeff Blackburn began investigating the Tulia defendants' cases along with civil rights organizations and a handful of attorneys from firms around the country [9]. Eventually the case became a cause célèbre, and money was raised to legally challenge the cases. Many had already served several years in prison before this process gained momentum. By 2004, Blackburn and his team had freed most of the "Tulia 46" and a $6,000,000 collective settlement was reached to avoid further litigation in civil court. Local authorities remain defiant, promising their town will not become a "slot machine" in the face of a new lawsuit stemming from an incident of police brutality during the sweep by a man who was not charged.[10][11]
In media
A documentary Tulia, Texas: Scenes from the Drug War was filmed by Sarah Kunstler and Emily Kunstler in 2003, and won the Best Documentary Short award at Woodstock Film Festival.
Another documentary, titled Tulia, Texas, filmed by Cassandra Herman and Kelly Whalen, premiered in 2008 at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin and aired on PBS February 10, 2009.
Presently, the Tulia 46 drug sting event is in movie production Tulia by Paramount Pictures, directed by John Singleton and starring Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry, scheduled for release in 2011.[12]
Federal laws titled after Tulia have twice been introduced in the United States Congress, but not enacted, to increase the evidentiary standard required to convict a person for a drug offense and to require screening of law enforcement officers or others acting under color of law participating in drug task forces.[13]
The 1999 drug arrests were also explored in the documentary 'American Drug War: The Last White Hope'.
Geography
Tulia is located at 34°32′09″N 101°45′31″W / 34.5358942°N 101.7585159°W / 34.5358942; -101.7585159 (34.5358942, -101.7585159).[14] It is located 46 miles (74 km) south of Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.5 square miles (9.1 km2), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000,[1] there were 5,117 people, 1,698 households, and 1,222 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,447.6 people per square mile (559.7/km2). There were 1,898 housing units at an average density of 537.0/sq mi (207.6/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 66.45% White, 8.40% African American, 0.43% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 22.12% from other races, and 2.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 39.63% of the population.
There were 1,698 households out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.18.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.8% under the age of 18, 11.9% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 113.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 116.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,794, and the median income for a family was $32,415. Males had a median income of $24,857 versus $20,000 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,956. About 16.0% of families and 19.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.7% of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The city is served by the Tulia Independent School District.
Schools that serve Tulia include Highland Elementary School (EE-2), W.V. Swinburn Elementary (3-5), Tulia Junior High School (6-8), and Tulia High School (9-12).
Tulia High School
Mascot: Hornets
Colors: Maroon/White/Black
Website. www.tulia-isd.net
Media
- Newspapers:
- Tulia Herald
- Swisher County News
Notable people
References
External links
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