New York Mayor Calls for ‘Wave of Unity’ Against Bigotry
Mayor David N. Dinkins proclaimed a “day of solidarity against bigotry” Tuesday and called for a color-blind campaign for “respect and unity” to dispel racial tensions in the city.
An overflow crowd of more than 5,000 people packed the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine to hear the mayor ask New Yorkers to rededicate themselves to “the values of justice, opportunity and caring.”
“This is the time to come together to create a wave of energy and unity so powerful that it can wash away the hate and the hurt,” the mayor said. “I’m sick of the pain. I’ve seen too much. I need you to be my companions in this campaign for respect and unity.”
Gov. Mario M. Cuomo and representatives of black, Irish, Latino, Italian, Jewish, Korean and homosexual groups also spoke.
The most recent irritant to race relations was a pair of verdicts in the Bensonhurst case. One white teen-ager was convicted of killing a black youth during a gang attack in a predominantly white section of Brooklyn in August. A co-defendant was acquitted of murder but convicted of lesser charges.
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