Laughlin's assessment was echoed by a host of Turner's friends and associates who spoke during the several-hours-long service last week including Mitchell, Travis Co.
Especially white folks white folks will give up on a struggle in a New York minute if it makes them feel uncomfortable." "Dorothy tried to overcome that by speaking loudly for the maids, the cooks, the yardmen, the people at the bottom. "She just understood that the deck is so stacked against any real and significant social change, you have to be aggressive to fight it," she said.
Turner wasn't bothered by those who disagreed with her, Laughlin said, she was bothered by those who chose not to fight at all. "You're only ever going to satisfy 25 percent of the people because 50 percent don't give a shit what you do, and 25 percent are going to disagree with you no matter what you do, and you have to understand that I got along with Dorothy all of the time, because I understood where she was coming from." Although the attacks on Lewis (and other members of the council, particularly Daryl Slusher) often took on a nasty tone (with Lewis dubbed a turncoat, among other things), Lewis says he always respected Turner's causes and points of view. For example, in 1997, addressing the City Council regarding construction delays on the MYEC, Turner joined former Council Member Eric Mitchell in attacking then Council Member Willie Lewis (who had unseated Mitchell), labeling Lewis a tool of the city's enviros who, they argued, prioritized all things water-related above the other basic needs of Eastside minorities. Indeed, city officials often found themselves on the receiving end of Turner's "intolerant" ire. " was angry and also intolerant of people who did nothing to change injustice." "Anybody who's not angry about injustice has a mental problem," Laughlin said. Not so, said Turner's longtime friend Trella Laughlin, who worked with the Anti-Klan Committee and the BCTF. Over the years, Turner's emotional style prompted some to conclude that the real "enemy" Turner railed against was anyone who disagreed with her. Turner's unwavering and occasionally unnerving commitment to fighting racial injustice took many forms as longtime president of the Black Citizens Task Force (founded by fellow activist and Turner confidant Velma Roberts), as ally of the John Brown Anti-Klan Committee, as crusader against police brutality, as champion of the Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex and Austin's KAZI-FM, among other causes and attracted both friends and foes. Turner died at home on April 6 after a long battle with cancer. John Tabernacle on April 14 to honor Dorothy Nell Turner, the fiery and feisty queen of Austin civil rights activists. Dorothy Turner's casket is carried into the services.
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