‘You Belong Here’: Black Responds to Richardson’s Faith Fest Remarks

By R.J. Morales | TX3DNews

Brittany Black, the Democratic candidate for Texas House District 61, is pushing back on remarks made by Republican state Rep. Keresa Richardson at Texas Faith Fest, saying Muslim families should not be made to feel uncomfortable because of their religion.

Black, who is challenging Richardson in the Nov. 3 election, said she found the remarks “deeply concerning, particularly coming from an elected official whose job is to represent everyone in House District 61.”

‘Muslim families in McKinney are not outsiders’

The Houston Chronicle reported that Richardson said, “The more uncomfortable they are, the better,” during a Sept. 26 “Don’t Sharia My Texas” panel at Texas Faith Fest. Richardson also suggested banning public broadcasts of the Muslim call to prayer.

“An elected representative should never measure success by how uncomfortable a group of constituents can be made to feel because of their religion,” Black said.

“Muslim families in McKinney are not outsiders. They are our neighbors, teachers, doctors, business owners, parents, students and friends.”

Richardson told the Chronicle the policies were “not about picking on” Muslims and said, “We want to witness to our Muslim neighbors. We want to win them to Christ.”

Black rejected that characterization.

“Whatever label someone puts on that discussion afterward, those are the words and policies that were discussed.”

From McKinney to Faith Fest

Richardson’s Faith Fest remarks came less than two months after she asked the McKinney City Council to delay the McKinney Islamic Association site plan. City staff found the plan compliant with development requirements, and the council approved it 7-0.

“I think the chronology and Richardson’s own public actions are relevant,” Black said. “Readers can decide for themselves how they interpret that pattern.”

Black said there is a difference between enforcing existing law and restricting religious practices because they are Muslim.

“There is also an important distinction between enforcing American law—which of course applies to everyone—and restricting the lawful religious practices of Americans because those practices are Muslim. Those are not the same thing.”

On the call to prayer, Black said the same noise rules should apply to everyone.

“If there is a decibel limit or a restriction on amplified sound at certain hours, it should apply equally to a mosque’s call to prayer, church bells, amplified Christian worship, concerts and other comparable sound,” Black said.

“The First Amendment does not contain a religious popularity test.”

‘You belong here’

Asked what she would say directly to Muslim families in HD61, Black’s answer was brief.

“You belong here.”

“You should not have to change your faith, hide your faith or leave your community to make an elected official more comfortable.”

Black said Muslim residents should not have to question how their representative views them.

“If I have the privilege of representing HD61, you will not have to wonder whether your representative considers you less Texan, less American or less deserving of constitutional protection because you are Muslim.”

She said the principle extends beyond Islam.

“I don’t need to share someone’s religion to defend their right to practice it.”

“And I think this is bigger than one religion,” Black said. “Christians should care about this. Jews should care about this. Hindus, Sikhs, atheists and everyone else should care about it, because once government gets to decide which faiths deserve full religious liberty, religious liberty stops being a right and becomes a privilege granted by whoever happens to be in power.”

A Muslim constituent responds

One Muslim resident of Richardson’s district said her recent rhetoric has left him “deeply uncomfortable and concerned.” He asked TX3DNews not to publish his name.

“As a Muslim who has called Frisco home for the past nine years, I have to say that the recent rhetoric from HD61 Rep. Keresa Richardson, including her reported statement that ‘the more uncomfortable they are, the better,’ has left me deeply uncomfortable and concerned,” he said.

He said his family’s experience in North Texas has been different.

“The welcome we received from our neighbors and community was incredible,” he said. “For nearly a decade, we have lived alongside people of different races, ethnicities, religions, and backgrounds.”

“We have lived together, supported one another, and gotten along splendidly,” he said.

“That is the Texas I know and ready to fight for.”

“I don’t believe that turning neighbors against one another serves our children or the future of our communities.”

Richardson asked to respond

TX3DNews contacted Richardson for comment and asked who she meant by “they” when she said, “The more uncomfortable they are, the better,” and what she would say to Muslim constituents who believe those words were directed at them.

She was also asked whether she agrees with Texas Values board member John Bean, who told the Chronicle that Muslims should be made to feel “so unwelcome” that they want to leave, calling that his “ultimate goal.”

Richardson had not responded as of publication.