LETTERS

The opportunists of divisiveness

Posted 8/28/14

To the Editor:

The tragedy of Michael Brown’s death and the questioning of Officer Darren Wilson’s use of deadly force is undoubtedly a potentially inflammatory situation. Instead of soothing …

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LETTERS

The opportunists of divisiveness

Posted

To the Editor:

The tragedy of Michael Brown’s death and the questioning of Officer Darren Wilson’s use of deadly force is undoubtedly a potentially inflammatory situation. Instead of soothing a community in an uproar, civil rights activists Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson sought to stir up violent and miscreant behavior by making accusations without waiting for the final forensic facts. Both have rekindled the old assertions of inequity in our country in order to spur unrest.

The preachers Sharpton and Jackson have made their well-heeled careers on promoting divisiveness. Fifty years after the Great Society Programs and the Civil Rights Act were passed, the specter of prejudice and inequity lives in the minds of those who profit from rabble rousing rhetoric rather than affirming the vast strides our society has made toward fairness.

Affirmative Action, CETA, Pell Grants, EOF, and several other government initiatives have provided more than equity for self- determined African Americans. As a result, we currently have many lawyers, doctors, judges, investors, and teachers who happened to be African American. Yet, provokers like Sharpton and Jackson make bad situations worse by claiming that bigotry is still the fundamental systemic underlying reason for all the ills of people of color in America. The rise of the Black middle class, the rise of Black professionalism, and the ascension of Barack H. Obama to the highest office in the land belies the assertion the African Americans are still suppressed from achieving success in our society.

The fact is Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream has been realized and we are a better America for it. These two preachers should accept victory and find another line of work to make their respective fortunes.

Christopher M. Curran

West Warwick

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  • JohnStark

    The "Reverend" Al Sharpton never attended divinity school, and the "Reverend" Jesse Jackson dropped out of same. Understand, the livelihood of both individuals is dependent upon keeping a segment of the population in a permanent state of victimhood. To date, 241 residents of Chicago have been the victims of homicide. Still waiting for the candlelight vigils led by the "Reverends". Tragically, black-on-black violence does not inflame the senses, nor enhance Reverend enrichment.

    Thursday, August 28, 2014 Report this