School Name

Re “What’s in a Name? The Importance of Being White,” Commentary, Jan. 13:

Every time a column of Karen Grigsby Bates’ reaches readers in The Times it is fueled with racist resentments and statements. When Bates refers to decades ago, when white teenagers wore penny loafers and Peter Pan collars--what an insult. I was a teenager decades ago and never wore such clothes. How dare she group all white people together as one and the same? Instead of realizing that teenagers do interchange ideas, emulate each other and have hero worship, she gets bitter and resentful, and accuses our entire white society of being racist.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a great man whether or not a Riverside school is named after him.

LINDA S. WALTER

Los Angeles