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Dozens of Farmers Branch residents filled the council chambers Tuesday, June 17, to voice their opinions on a proposed social media calendar recognizing various cultural heritage months, with speakers delivering emotional testimonies on both sides of the divisive issue.
Katie Brown spoke first in favor of the calendar, sharing her personal background as a military child who helped "take down the Berlin Wall" at age three. "I want to make sure that Farmers Branch is going to be a place that opens their arms to people who love this country," Brown said. "Having all of those celebrations, having all of those things really matters to me, and I hope it really matters to you."
Gail Manning, a 40-year Farmers Branch resident, said she received a letter promoting "hate and exclusion" of some neighbors. "I'm here to stand against that prejudice," Manning said. "I'm proud that our city follows the interpretation that government does not favor or disfavor one religious group above another."
Loren Rives invoked the state's official motto in her support. "Our motto, adopted in 1930 by the legislature, is friendship," Rives said, explaining it comes from an indigenous word meaning "friend or ally." She added, "When our community celebrates this friendship and this inclusion, it says that our story is a part of your story."
Anna Buford called opposition to the calendar "embarrassing" and "discouraging." "At the end of the day, we all live here in Farmers Branch, and if we're going to grow as a city, it's going to bring more people in, it's going to bring people of all different cultures," Buford said.
Sarah Burrell Harrop, who moved to Farmers Branch in 2019, warned about the city's reputation. "I found out that, to my joy, we don't use ordinances anymore to target racial minorities," she said. "It's pretty easy to get a bad reputation and it's pretty hard to change public perception."
Tressa Edelman, a family nurse practitioner from Carrollton who serves Farmers Branch patients, provided health statistics supporting inclusion. "When even one adult affirms a transgender or queer young person, their risk of suicide drops from nearly 40 percent to under 5 percent," Edelman said. "That's not just a statistic, that's the power of being seen, that's a life saved."
Lisa Massey emphasized that acknowledgment "doesn't require us to fly a flag, it doesn't require us to attend an activity or event. All it does is say to our neighbors… that we see you and you're part of our community."
John Campbell reminded the council that citizen comments at a previous study session were "12 to one against" the proposal. "If this were a baseball game, that would be a blowout," Campbell said. "This proposal didn't come from the people of Farmers Branch. The people of Farmers Branch just want the council to take care of legitimate city needs, not get into controversial topics."
Sherry Caillier specifically opposed Pride Month inclusion. "As a Christian, the Bible tells us not to celebrate gay pride," Cailier said. "If you are gay... that's fine, but I don't want to celebrate it."
Matthew Serpa suggested omitting "all of the ethnic and cultural recognition items and only include official federal state holidays and city particular events." He argued that "while these things are well-intentioned, it is absolutely impossible to cover all of the ethnic and cultural groups, so in an effort to show inclusion, it actually results in exclusion."
Nancy Snyder said she doesn't understand "why those things need to be celebrated in our city. I think it's exclusive, I don't think it's inclusive, and there's plenty of groups that aren't listed."
Terry Anderson said his brother is left-handed and "takes no pride in this somewhat unique trait because that would be conceited." Anderson used that analogy to argue against "special recognition for an accident of birth to the exclusion of others."
Lyndal Chaffin said that while "we are all precious and we are all equal in the sight of God," she opposed the calendar because "by trying to be inclusive, it is by definition exclusive." She also noted missing groups, "There's nothing here about the Holocaust period recognition and what people went through in that time frame. There's nothing about the disabled in this calendar."
Daniel Bowe criticized the calendar and said, “This is a divisive issue for our city and needs to be dropped.”
Mike Briard suggested focusing on unity instead of division. "I think if we segregate the city into this group and that group and those people and these people, it just tends to hurt the city," Briard said. "I think we ought to just declare 2026 as all lives matter and try to unite the city instead of segregating it."
After disscussion from the council, members approved the calendar of events for social media acknowledgment by a 4-1 vote, with Councilman Roger Neal dissenting. The calendar will highlight the city's diversity through social media posts recognizing cultural heritage months, city service events and federal and state holidays including Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, Columbus Day, Washington's Birthday, Military Appreciation Month, Pride Month, Texas Independence Day, Religious Freedom Day and Constitution Day on the city's Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn platforms.
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