On Jan. 7, Renard Johnson was elected as the first Black mayor of El Paso. Born in the southside of Chicago, Johnson’s family relocated to El Paso when he was just seven months old. His path winds from the northeast attending Terrace Hills Elementary and Andress High School to west central graduating from The University of Texas at El Paso and now occupying an office in City Hall.
“That journey and that foundation is what led me to eventually want to start my own company, get that going and then ultimately giving back to the community whether it’s through charity, philanthropy, what have you,” Johnson said. “I got to a point where I wanted to give back to the city, so I decided to run for mayor.”
Johnson’s election is a monumental occasion for the city of El Paso. Being the first Black person in any position can be difficult, especially in a city with such a small population of the same race, but it illustrates progress and a change in perspective.
“I know I’m Black. Make no mistake that I don’t know that I’m Black, and I’m very proud to carry that that with me,” Johnson said. “I feel that pressure, but I am also very proud of this community where it’s allowed me to be who I am. It gave me my education. It gave me all my memories, and it gave me all my deep friendships. And that’s what El Paso is.”
Despite any pressure he feels, Johnson doesn’t let his differences deter him.
“I’m so super proud of El Paso because El Paso, primarily 82-83% Hispanic, has elected their first Black mayor, and that shows you the city that we have: that you can be of any color, any nationality, any gender, it doesn’t matter. This city embraces you.” Johnson said.
Johnson plans to embrace the city just as it does him, with plans to increase the city’s safety ranking, graduate retention, officer recruitment, job opportunity and investments for tourism and recreation.
“If there’s areas for improvement, we certainly have to look at that. We can come to some common ground as a community that will allow us to do expansion and also preservation of areas that are important to El Paso,” Johnson said. “I think we’re going to find that balance, but I think it’s going to take the entire El Paso community to make that happen.”
Immigration was an important aspect of this past election, as President-Elect Donald Trump made it clear that immigration raids and mass deportations would be a cardinal policy for his administration. For a city whose economy and culture is largely based on movement over the southern border, mention of possible federal restrictions to do so can be frightening.
“We don’t see the border like other parts of the country. It’s one where we flow freely back and forth,” Johnson said. “There’s people that work for me that go back and forth across the border on a daily basis, two or three times. And a lot of us have family members over there and they have family members here.”
But what can El Paso do to make sure this aspect of our community, one that embraces immigration, remains this way? Johnson believes it’s all in how the picture is painted.
“We can dispel any myths or any falsehoods about El Paso and tell the truth. It’s safe, it’s a beautiful community, and we’ve got to invite people to El Paso. We’ve got to shine that light on El Paso. We’ve got to let them know that the narrative that they painted about our community – it’s just not true,” Johnson said. “Come down and see us. Let us show you how beautiful we are.”
Johnson encourages students to take part in shining this light on the city.
“If you get outside of your comfort zone, you’re going to be surprised at what can happen. I encourage you guys to get involved. I encourage you guys to be vocal. I encourage you guys to be a part of your community. I encourage you guys to get out there and make a change. This is your community.”
Leah Austin is staff reporter at The Prospector and may be reached at [email protected]
