European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 28, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse The stars and stripes Friday november 28,188 writers air views on racial sin the letter. He decries Blick Nchim against whim brings up some very valid Point about the racial state of affair in our country and elsewhere. I think the writer Wilt agree with me when 1 Ity thit baud on our nation beginning i.e., the slave Trade and the racist practice that followed the endow slavery in America we Are probably to the unfortunate petition or being born Loo won to Lee a completely color Blind society in the United Sutet. Too Many wrongs were perpetrated in the put Soever be erased and to our discredit we Are very race conscious people and whether we Are aware fit or nol a lot of i raise our children to be race conscious too. Pride in one s race or National origin can Bevery healthy in that in promotes Progre ii within that group to enhance productivity in the nation which benefits everyone. When thai Pride Comet at another group s expense the destructive qualities of thatt witted Pride Wilt at it has in the past make liar of us As americans when we Call ourselves the Guardi an j of Freedom we really Don t have time for that anymore be cause in causes our National direction to waver and we lure Don t need that at this Point in our history. As Long As the letter writer does t believe i those unequal practices he should t be concerned about being called a racist. He appears to have the right but should be careful making compari sons Between racial groups and what they Are doing to Correct what they May have fell was an unjust situation. The Best Way to make sense of All this confusion would be to try to put yourself in their place and see it on another level. Sol. Michael c. Gryttr Torr Jon a Spain. When someone of the Black race make statement and accusations such As those in this letter they Are usually considered racist s move ahead and learn More about each other in the Small world of ours. Human relations equal Opportunity affirmative action Are All tools to help us to live peacefully with one another. Remember All men women Are created just have to set the terms for this Equality As realistically and positively at possible. Alfreda Pressley by crier Haven. It s apparent this writer knows nothing of what institutional racism 15. In Short we weren t Ever in the past Given a fair and equal Chance in these called miss America pageant. Vanessa was a victim of circumstances caught up in a trap of White racism trying to make it. It s obvious she had no positive guidance in the begin Ning. But How Many White women in show business got caught up in thai same web. Try to compare the race riots that s White ganging up and beating up on innocent Blacks after Jack Johnson Defeated the great while Hope for the heavyweight title. The Law did nothing to pre Lect those innocent american citizens who deserved Protection under the due process of the Law. Com pare this to the economic and social riots of the 60s carried out by Blacks. Blacks were j ailed beaten an killed by the numbers by the Law. Those riots were aimed Only at driving the White owned business soul of the Black communities because they were Only taking from the communities and putting Noth ing we. Sol. Lawrence Cade Malax Germany. Miss America contest from their Onset in the fifties did nol have to be called miss White Ameri Ca but that s what they were. The same concept applies at the grammy awards. There it a country Western category which More White people like and there is a rhythm Bluet category which More Black people like. See the similarity there in a in. America pageant a miss teenage America pageant and Levra Lothera i can t name. If they came out with a miss latin americ pageant i would say of boy not another one but i would understand Why. Everyone has hit other own of Beauty and or Good music. This writer it forgetting All the centuries of stepping on Blacks and women that started it All and made affirmative action a act now Don t think you an Loo willing to say. Let forgive and you would t try to Tel the jews that and you should to either. Mrs. Tent Elk Lungi Schmuhl sub Knoeri Germany. Just because Zimbabwe has a Black president and a majority Black government Doe not mean they Are racist. They do have Tome White and col ored government Olti Calt. The few White who Are there Are considered Ai citizens and Are allowed Tovote at Well As live where they please. The Black policemen there Are nol beating All up on the Whites or telling them they cannot congregate together Dot do they have to carry Green cards. Moil important they Are treated like the human being they an. Here s a question we have a White president Anda majority of we Iii r pie in the White House. Is that a racist seven ill spec. 4 Karen d. Gibbs filed Borg Germany. Ethnic characteristics that distinguish All peo ple of color have for Yean been ridiculed in the american so we Are reconciled to having Mist Black America. In having such a contest the sponsors and endorsers have strictly in mind the tet esteem of countless Young Black girls with nol so Slraight hair or nol to thin lips. This contest helps provide Posi Tive examples As Well As scholarships role Model Sand standards of Beauty that they can aspire to and relate to. Nothing sinister or racist was or is in tended by this contest. If anything this contest was a result of racist attitudes and rules in America. Surely you cannot believe that the racial climate in America in 1973was conducive to a Black miss America being chosen. Need i even mention j 463 also did it Ever occur to this writer that criminals Are equal Opportunity that is they prey on victims when they have the Opportunity and. Are equal with disregard for life and property. While a criminal does t really give a Hoot about his victim s race or religious preference he does like to blend in with his surroundings. So As a re sult More often than nol Blacks Are the victims of Black criminals. The suggestion was made that Blacks Are soft on crime Ana make excuses for criminals. Most Blacks in any major Urban Center can testify first Han about the grief caused by said criminals. My Uncle was one such victim. He did t live Tlell of it though. He was brutally slain while per forming his duties As a Chicago policeman. No onegin my family made excuses for ibis acl. Jim Crow and de Facto segregation were nor Lei established by Blacks any More than the Amer ican Indian reservations were established voluntarily by the indians. How do you think that All these Black organizations contests and neighbourhood sol their Start Blacks had Long sough if nol assimilation int society at least equal association. Bui they found that the doors were closed to Many otherwise Whit organizations. The . American methodist episcopal Church for instance was started when the founders Richard Allen and Absalom Jones were in a Church predominately while on their Knees in prayer. The two were matched from their Knees and Loid to go to the rear. Instead they never returned. Although this incident occurred during the time of our founding fathers Freedom and lib erty seekers Allin was indicative of times to come. Racial stereotypes perpetuated by All forms of Media past and present have contributed to the negative images associated with minorities Given the virtual absence of minority movie roles now it s at though a National treasure of minority Lent has been Don t want to live in the past but i m con stantly reminded of it thanks to people such at this writer. 1 find it disheartening that decades of abuse and discrimination could be Down played at though they did t really happen. The total disregard or Lack of thought or what the effects of discrimination have had on generations of Blacks leaves me cold. Sgt Michael o. Carter Aig but Germany it ii a fallacy of reasoning to conclude thai because in he history of the i America pageant in which one afro american was the Winner that a fact the pageant was or it therefore Aeq disc Midi Nastory. Historically a Small segment of the afro american Community has always been Able to Nia Ler the rules of assimilation to obtain a facsimile of the euro american version of Lucceus. However All afro americana have survived a a clip cd in a Tiu of not became of euro-americana1 racial practices. For the record As a Prood woman of ache descent i am with the worldwide vicious assault upon people of color Ity others be cause of their arrogant mythical sup Nonty com plex or profit making motives. I am outraged a tithe imbecilic attempts to tactfully take a passive position of no harm intended or labels of con in Euclive anything while enforcing Barbaric atrocities. African people throughout the world carry the Burden of being exploited and respond accordingly. 11 is incumbent upon europeans throughout the world to Cany their own Burden of being the exploiter accept the consequences and Slop the ineffectual attempts to convince the victimized thai they Are the Vacti Inizer with Black history month upon us after theother holidays please study learn and teach your history year Long who knows when How or what shape and form of the next inevitable possible deadly attack. Alke c. Of blk i fam Kunrt the miss Black America pageant is not a Mai Ler of racial discrimination against whiles it s a matter of racial identity for Blacks. For Black women and men who used to think perfectly straight falling. Long hair was always better who used to think Blueeyes saw More. For Black girls who used to think their while dolls were prettier than their Black dolls who have no one they can identify with when they watch America Beauly Queen walk Down the aisle the nationality is the same but the Beauty is . Who besides us will acknowledge this Sherl Warren one Rob Germany. Do you consider the recently held asian games to be discriminatory in nature because Only asian nations were invited of course nol because that would be yellow racism and that s something we Haven l heard of before. You seem to forget thai Blacks were brought Iother United states As slaves and when Freedom was granted to them they were systematically oppressed until they resisted on a major scale during the 60s. That is Why racism seems to be a Black and Whit Issue in the United Stales the civil rights movement paved the Way for other minorities and that s Why Wedon t hear Aboul yellow red racism or hispanic what i m trying to say is thai racism has no one race has a monopoly on it and it can be interpreted in Many ways. Staff sol. Clyde d. Dowel ii Torrejon Spain. When Freedom is denied one and lives Are los because of it it s wrong whatever the color. Probably the reason you hear so much when Blacksure being treated unfairly it because it s been going on so Long and Blacks get tired of hearing that Blacksin other countries Are treated unfairly too. Judging from the writer1 letter alone i Don t tee him As a racist. I believe he called it As he saw it and he really can t be expected to tee in at clearly non Blacks do. I believe lib saying goes until you have walked in Ray shoes for Many Long Gwara a Tamuty. Using Basic statistics we find Aboul 11 percent of americans Are Black. This Means that there should have been at least seven Block miss America. I would like to know Why the number of Blac officers in the . Army it so Low i would like to know Why 20 percent of casualties in Vietnam wer Black and Why almost 20 percent of bad discharges arc Given Blacks. I would also like to know Why it was 1964 before Many Blacks were allowed to Vole and Only then when Tome Federal legislation forced it. If it because we Black sue dumb or hey maybe there is Tome thing to the racial discrimination complaint Tut Mack american have sounded for -300 year. Jom Jhansi Ghufri
