Letters to the Editor

Eyes wide shut

It’s been one month and counting, yet the right-wing double talkers on the radio still refuse to see the truth through their distorted glasses. Although the evidence seems to flare up with regularity, they can’t seem to fathom why many black people don’t trust the police. Surely, it must be a black thing.

During the month preceding the Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.-Sgt. James Crowley incident, there were at least three egregious incidents involving black citizens and the police that were never fully addressed by the supporters in the “cop is always right” chorus.

First, there was the killing of a black teenager in front of 100 witnesses by a subway cop on a subway platform while the boy was handcuffed on the ground in California.

The second was the shooting of an elderly grandfather by a Southern cop who had chased a male family member into the man’s home for reasons yet to be explained. What was particularly disgraceful was an attempt by cops at the scene to tamper with the pistol of the deceased as a means to justify the killing, which was witnessed by family members.

The third was the traffic stop of a black football player rushing to the hospital to be at the bedside of his dying mother-in-law. Despite the pleas of staff members in the parking lot of the hospital that the man be allowed to reach her bedside, the cop took his time with the paperwork after threatening to pull his gun on the man’s wife if she entered the premises.

Recently, a black teenager was sparring with his female cousin on the front lawn when a white cop drove up asking questions. After being assured by the young woman that they had only been fooling around, the cop ended up chasing the young man behind the house and shooting him several times in the back. This happened in the South.

Still, my right-wing brethren continue to overlook incidents like these or downplay them as “aberrations.” Of course, when a simple aberration could end up with someone getting shot, we have a problem. For decades, the outcome of a confrontation between a black man and a white cop has often been injury, imprisonment or death for the former. Indeed, a simple aberration for some can be a death sentence for others.

If anything is to be done about this sorry state of affairs, we’ve got to spend more time talking about race in America — at work, at play and in the church.

 Finally, my take on the Gates-Crowley affair: Sgt. Crowley is not a racist. His buttons were pushed by Professor Gates, who was stressed out after a long trip. It’s when yelling at a cop inside your home becomes a criminal offense that we have a problem. Otherwise, that case should be closed.

Marvin Clark
Via e-mail

These are hard times. It seems that everything we have taken for granted is gone. Like the air we breathe, you expect the Banner to be there, a place where your community had a voice and could be heard. What is at stake is our voice, our pride and our rights. It was the Banner that kept the community involved and up-to-date. The city budget is in the dumps and our community is going with it. There is no one left to speak.

The Banner will truly be missed. Even though I live in Norwood, I always read the Banner. Even if you guys charge one dollar to save the paper, it would be well worth it to the community. You guys will be missed.

I look forward to reading the Banner every week. It is a vital part of the community, there is no other like it!! As a reader, this paper is the only one worth reading about my community. I would gladly pay to read this weekly newspaper. What is happening to our culture? We take pride in the Banner. This is our voice!! Now we no longer have one. What a sad time this is!!!

Something must be done!!!!! First, it was WILD — now this????!!!!

One of the reasons why I left Boston is because of the lack of “culture” within OUR own communities. From our political figures being attacked in the local media to the dismantlement of WILD/Banner … What else could go wrong???

The Bay State Banner has been a part of my life for a long time. There has to be something that we can do to bring back this publication that is so important to the urban community!

I am a housing advocate and my Thursday morning ritual is to see the ads for affordable housing. At work I would cut, copy and distribute them to the clients at the shelter. Now I am off kilter. I want to thank the Banner for helping me help others. I will miss the Banner not only for the resources but because it was a good, informative paper with not too much added flair or useless gossip. It kept the community abreast of important happenings. It was one of the few places a young black or Latino youth could read about the achievements of our youth. They need all the positive reinforcements that’s out there. AGAIN I THANK YOU FOR YOUR WONDERFUL SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY.

I grew up in the ’burbs of Mass., where the only other people of color were my relatives. My only connection to the AA community was through WILD and the Banner. This is very sad.

No longer a MA resident, I looked forward to your paper every week when I lived there. It covered really interesting stories and offered angles I couldn’t get from mainstream media. So I saw “July 9,” thought, “Why isn’t there a July 16th?” and then … oh. Oh, no. So sad to see the suspension of publication notice. Thanks for all your hard work and good luck.

This is a time for all the Martha’s Vineyard vacationers to do something more than hang out on Oak Bluffs — keep the Banner going for a few more issues.

Perhaps some unexpected salvation will surprise the Banner, even in these hard times.

I hope a few university interns can post an online retrospective of the most important stories, so that there’s a free, electronic history of Banner history for future historians — and present-day readers — to appreciate.

Either way, however, 44 years of unbroken service is a record that any paper would be glad to claim, and you and yours can always be rightfully proud of that, come what may.