Letter to the Editor: Response to Larry Elder

Dear Editor:

John Lewis famously said in an interview with Krista Tippet in 2013, “Our struggle is not a struggle that lasts for one day, one week, one month or one year or one lifetime. It is an ongoing struggle.”

Mr. Larry Elder’s opinion piece published in The Downey Patriot, Thursday, July 23, 2020 edition was completely void of depth or compassion. I’m not in any position to argue with Mr. Elder’s feeling on any topic about race, but I will argue the facts that his opinion sorely lacks.

First, to say that the war of civil rights is won is ludicrous. It’s not a war, it’s a movement. While the movement has made great strides, it has also been set back as of late. I would encourage everyone to familiarize themselves with the gutting of the voting acts right of 2013 that has led to the closing of over 1200 voting precincts, primarily in the South, primarily affecting Black citizens.

Secondly, I would point out that the protests are not about equal rights, they are about police brutality and how it primarily affects the Black communities. It’s almost as if Mr. Elder turned off his television when George Floyd called out that he couldn’t breathe and then called out for his mama. Only someone who purposely chooses to ignore the cries of the community could be so blatantly wrong about the why of what’s happening across the country. Police departments across the country are violently beating and killing citizens, mostly Black, at alarming rates with impunity, in fact, with immunity to do so and it goes against the very grain of our democracy. In addition to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Atatianna Jefferson, Aura Rosser, Stephon Clark, Botham Jean, Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, Michelle Cusseaux, Freddie Gray, Janisha Fonville, Eric Garner, Akai Gurley, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown have been murdered by police. This list is not exhaustive, it only lists death from 2014 to the present and not all are listed, these are just a few.

Mr. Elder claims that “equal rights and equal results are two different things.” If his opinion had any depth, he would contemplate why that is. His explanation amounts to saying that somehow the Black community is it’s own worst enemy. On the surface that may be true of some Black people, as it may be true of some poor people, or some immigrants, of any plethora of people who have given up. If you dig just a little deeper, you see other enemies, those not so obvious, but those that have such a huge impact on a society’s psyche. Some enemies include the school to prison pipeline, the war on drugs, racial disparities in sentencing in the U.S. criminal justice system. I could go on and on, but these examples were just simple google searches. It saddens me, no, it enrages me that people view the problems in America in such simple terms.

Mr. Elder is right that this is not your grandfather’s America\. It’s not even your father’s America, and that’s a good thing. While it’s easy to be discouraged by what is happening, I’m so profoundly encouraged by the number of Black leaders that continue to work towards justice to ensure the rights of all Americans are protected. S. Lee Merritt, Esquire of Grassroots Law and Merritt Law Firm, LLC, Tamika D. Mallory, Ibram X. Kendi, Cheyney McKnight, and the list goes on and on, all are Black, successful leaders the likes it seems Mr. Elder has never heard of.

This doesn’t include the many others, many mothers, and fathers that lead quietly to make the world a better, inclusive, diverse, and loving community that includes Black, white, Hispanic, Native American, and LGBTQ+ who don’t stand still.

Alida Chacon
Downey