America must stand up to racist bullies
Peace in America from within must be achieved by living its true creed that all men are created equal. From the moment of the invasion by Columbus, racial oppression has been an operating principle of the initial gentrification of what is now the Americas. The United States of America codified white supremacy in the decimation of native Americans and the enslavement of captured Africans. Even after slavery was abolished, America has maintained its white supremacist policies. It has allowed slavery sympathizers to normalize oppression of people of color by celebrating the effort to maintain an immoral economic institution utilizing public funding and property. These monuments do not represent history, rather they are declarations of racism couched in comments about heritage and honor in effort. These celebrations of the failed treasonous insurrection against the United States of America should cease immediately. As demonstrated in Charlottesville, all America must stand up to these hateful bullies. White Christians, Muslims and Jews must be moved to join black and brown citizens to repudiate racism and white supremacy from shore to shore.
RICHARD ROSE, PRESIDENT OF THE ATLANTA BRANCH OF THE NAACP
Those who would remove statues disrespectful
On Aug. 15, NBC’s national news had a segment about the expense and effort by a WWII veteran to return a Japanese flag to the family of a soldier he had found dead on the battlefield. This was the same day the Confederate soldiers’ memorials were being decoyed by people who did not the respect the sacrifices that all soldiers make to serve their country, no matter how wrong the country is. After serving as a Marine pilot in the 1960s, I think it’s absurd that the people who are destroying memorials don’t understand what memorials signify.
LARRY WEBSTER, ATLANTA
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