Cleaver on Racial Dialogue

Re “Getting to the Promised Land,” Commentary, Jan 4:

In the early 1980s on his return from his self-imposed exile to Algeria, I had a chance to sit through one of Eldrige Cleaver’s speeches as he vilified the former Soviet Union and socialism for all the ills of the world. The author of “Soul on Ice” seems fired up once again, going around asking for forgiveness to absolve white people from the “guilt” they must be feeling for their ill-treatment of people of color.

I hardly think banalizing a serious issue such as race relations in America with a watered-down slogan of “I’m OK, you’re OK, so let’s have a group hug and make up” seems the solution. Forgiveness can have a healing quality if what is being forgiven has ceased to exist.

BETE WOLDEYOHANNES

Pasadena

* As a lifelong conservative Republican, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would someday agree with Cleaver. I am sorry about the sins of my ancestors in fostering slavery, racial and religious discrimination, segregation, etc. But I can’t do anything about history, so let’s get on with life and try to get along today.

It was interesting reading Cleaver’s comments just one day after a letter in Sports from Legrand H. Clegg II, informing us of certain racist code words for blacks. I never considered myself a racist when I wanted to discuss problems with welfare, or condemned gang violence. It is difficult to have a dialogue when people must be concerned that they are not being politically correct in every term they use, or even worse, about using a code word known only to the listener as a racist term.

WARREN FERGUSON

Orange