Wednesday, March 19, 2003

Thank you for printing my letter concerning insufficient news coverage of NAACP events, and please accept my apology for that letter being construed as a "threat" or "extortion."

I was overly optimistic that my letter would be taken as a serious request for better coverage of African-American or NAACP events. After reading responses by Mr. Futral and Mr. Washburn, I now realize that African-American- or NAACP-sponsored events are not as important as other events in Fayette County.

The Citizen is perhaps the best local newspaper and has done a better job covering African-American- or NAACP-sponsored events than other local newspapers. I commend you for that!

On the other hand, I am a lifelong Georgian with vivid personal memories of disparate treatment of African-Americans since the civil rights era. While I remain eternally optimistic about increased future coverage of African-American or NAACP events, I have come to realistically expect less than equal treatment for anything that has to do with African-American people.

Furthermore, I fully expect to be attacked by those who think that African-Americans should stay in their place and not speak out to demand equal treatment. So far, all of my expectations have surely been met!

John E. Jones

Fairburn