First the statues, now the trees.
Via Desert Sun:
Palm Springs will remove a row of tamarisk trees blocking a historically African American neighborhood from the city-owned Tahquitz Creek Golf Course.
At an informal meeting with neighborhood residents Sunday, Mayor Robert Moon, council member J.R. Roberts and other city officials promised residents they would remove the trees and a chain link fence along the Crossley Tract property lines as soon as possible.
Many longtime residents of the neighborhood previously told The Desert Sun they believed the trees were planted for racist reasons in the 1960s, and remained a lasting remnant of the history of segregation in the city. Residents said the invasive tamarisks, which block views of the golf course and San Jacinto mountains, have artificially depressed property values and prevented black families from accumulating wealth in their property over the past half century.
Roberts apologized to the Crossley Tract residents for any wrongdoing by the city in the past and said he and the rest of the council wanted to make the necessary changes to ensure future generations didn’t have to deal with the same problems current and past residents faced.
“You asked why it took us this long,” Roberts told about 50 residents gathered for the meeting on a vacant lot on Lawrence Street. “I can’t answer that. But guess what? We’re here now.”
HT: Tucker Carlson