Wednesday, January 30, 2002
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Wednesday, January 30, 2002 |
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Anti-King letter was divisive, sad and wrong It was with a touch of sadness that I read Victoria A. Wanzer's letter regarding the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Being a black man, 51 years old, who witnessed and participated in the movement, her rhetoric reminded me of the prevailing attitude of conservative Americans during that era. That attitude was that these courageous Americans were communist sympathizers and racial agitators. It's important to note that Dr. King did preach nonviolence. Surely had he not practiced nonviolence, there would have been riots following the unleashing of police dogs and fire hoses on civil rights demonstrators, or following Bloody Sunday at Selma when marchers, including now-Congressman John Lewis of Atlanta, were severely beaten by the police. Or, most certainly, following the bombing of the Birmingham church that killed four little black girls. To say that Dr. King was responsible for the Watts riot is akin to saying that all white people were responsible for the oppressive, segregated laws of that time and the lynching of blacks! It is simply not true. Ms. Wander states "there is a long list of black Americans more deserving of hero status than Martin Luther King, Jr." Being a Christian, I think Dr. King is the universally recognized leader of freedom for black Americans because he did preach the Christian doctrine of love and forgiveness. He said that only love could overcome hate. She further states that everything Martin Luther King did was to further his political career. What political career? He never held a political office in his lifetime. I write this letter because it is important to set the record straight and to let our young people know the truth. It's also important to recognize that many white people marched, fought, and died to earn the freedom for black Americans that is guaranteed to every American. Also, I must take the editorial staff of The Citizen to task. Following the horrific events of Sept. 11, I sensed a unity in our country that was unprecedented. For months, we weren't black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Democrat, or Republican. We were simply Americans. However, printing Ms. Wanzer's letter and Bill Bryant's letter only serves to turn our focus away from our shared goals to things that separate us. So sad. In closing, Ms. Wanzer states that Republicans supported the Civil Rights Act while the Democrats did not. I think that people of goodwill one towards the other supported this act. Regardless of political loyalty. Grady M. Scott Fayetteville
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