Why were some members of the white community happy with the desegregation plan that closed Ector High School?

Many people in Odessa believe that the influx of Mexican-Americans, which helped bring about desegregation years after the government ordered it, irrevocably changed the character of Permian football. Lanita is further amazed at how any attempt for blacks to become involved in the politics of Odessa leads to an immediate backlash from the white community and the continuation of the attitude of fatalism within the black community. This can be seen in the experience of Willie Hammond, Jr. who after becoming the first black city councilman in the history of Odessa. He was eventually arrested for arson conspiracy and perjury, charges he insisted were the result of a political set-up. The same thing happened to Laurence Hurd, the Church of Christ minister, whose criminal past was used to discredit him. To Lanita, these events are symptomatic of the larger problem.