HUTTO, Texas — Hutto mayor Mike Snyder is under fire after a resident who spoke during a council meeting in late August gifted him a fruit stand with bananas hanging and a monkey.
Some members of the community say the gift is a symbol of racism.
However, the issue was not so much with the person who gave it to Snyder. It was more so due to him leaving it on the dais throughout the entirety of the meeting.
"The Black and brown people of our community deserve better," Hutto resident Heather Mack said.
The issue was first brought up during the following council meeting on Sept. 7, where Councilmember Brian Thompson reprimanded Snyder for the incident. Since then, several Hutto residents have shown up at the council meeting to express their outrage and concern.
"Those bananas sat up there for two hours," Terrance Owens said. "We could not see the mayor's face."
Snyder has apologized in the meetings, and on Friday, he explained to KVUE that he wasn't aware that the gift could be considered offensive. He simply thought it was a "prop" for some sort of message she was trying to get across.
"I'll be honest, I don't always know what would be considered a racial symbol," Snyder said. "Some of them we all know because they've come out, and there's ones that we know based on events."
Some residents have said Snyder should have known better. When KVUE asked Snyder if that should be the case, he said, "If the expectation is I'm supposed to know what every single thing that would be found offensive or discriminatory against every single ethnic group, religious group that lives in Hutto … I don't think anybody's trained for that."
Onnesha Williams is part of the Black Families of Hutto organization and has been vocal at the meetings about the situation. She noted that although she was not at the Aug. 31 meeting, she heard through word of mouth through fellow community members, and felt the need to speak up.
"At a certain level of being someone who represents a diverse community – he should have had a different awareness," Williams said. "I don't think it's just me who thinks he doesn't belong there. I think it's a matter of the citizens and what their opinions are. And I think that you see more and more people come and speak out."
It's gotten to the point where Williams and Thompson have called for Snyder's resignation, which Snyder told KVUE on Friday he will not be doing.
Snyder mentioned he is working to put diversity training through the council and hopes to move past the incident.
"We're open to all races, gender, sexualities, religions, and we're going to continue to work to be better," Snyder said.
But, for some, including Williams, it's too little too late.
"I think that his lack of taking accountability," Williams said. "That's his choice if he chooses not to resign. But I don't think that the mayor has all sovereign power in the city. The citizens do. The voters do."