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Larry Elder: Voice of the Future or an Uncle Tom?

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I’ve listened to Larry Elder off and on with ambivalence (“The Sage From South-Central?” by John L. Mitchell, May 31). As an African American, I’ve had to reconcile my anger at his views with my belief that he has every right to express his opinion.

At times I’ve considered him arrogant and somewhat shallow, but the article offered a balanced portrait that underlined his commitment. Now that I better understand Elder’s personal journey, I can put his views and motivations in perspective.

Sharon Woodson-Bryant

Burbank

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Corporations spend millions on seminars and speakers to motivate their employees. Their message: You can excel if you try. Well, Elder tells his audience the same thing. He empowers African Americans to create their own future, rather than providing them with an excuse to fail.

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His is the voice of the future. He does not deny that great injustices were heaped on blacks in this nation or that they unfairly face greater challenges in today’s society. But he knows that dwelling on the past won’t move anyone a single step closer to success.

Jim Bass

Thousand Oaks

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Elder is no conservative pioneer pointing the way toward responsible black behavior. He is a self-hating race-baiter who has attacked virtually every renowned black politician, scholar, minister, producer, athlete, organization and institution. African Americans can promote self- discipline, family values and group responsibility without bashing other blacks and defending racism.

Omega S. Shepherd

Carson

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The legacy of slavery and hatred in our country is such that 35 years of civil-rights legislation has not undone the collective knee-jerk reaction that white society still has toward people of color. I’d like to see Elder’s face the next time he finds himself alone on an elevator with a white woman who is grabbing at the strap of her shoulder bag and clutching it tightly.

Louise Claps

North Hollywood

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If blacks are to move toward being known more for our accomplishments and less for being a nation of fatherless children, contributors to crime, writers of bad checks and abusers of the welfare system, we’d be wise to listen to what Elder has to say.

Cheryl Thomas

Hollywood

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Many African Americans in South-Central hold conservative views, but they are people who have earned the respect of residents and leaders because they live in, are employed in and contribute to the black community.

Does Elder relate to South-Central in that manner?

Clifton D. Blevins II

Inglewood

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I’d like to know which advertisers pulled their spots off of Elder’s show so I can stop buying their products. That those companies chose to give in to a small group of cranks shows a kind of cowardice that should be reviled by all thinking people.

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Gary Garland

Yorba Linda

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Why do Elder, Clarence Thomas and Ward Connerly oppose affirmative action--especially since it helped them get where they are?

Mildred Kramer

Los Angeles

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Elder is an insult to all decent black Americans who daily fight battles against racism. He is this century’s quintessential Uncle Tom.

Jimmy R. Williams

Los Angeles

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