Vern Speaks Up

Re “Taking It Step by Uneasy Step” (by Greg Braxton, Feb. 3):

Reggie Rock Bythewood, writer-director of the HBO film “Dancing in September,” says he became concerned about the impact TV has on people’s perceptions of African Americans when, on a trip to Africa, the locals laughed at his wife because she had the same first name (Gina) as Martin Lawrence’s girlfriend on “Martin.”

Does Bythewood really believe that this kind of thing is only encountered by black people? He should talk to any Irish American man named Gilligan if he really wants to understand what it’s like having a name that’s been rendered infamous by TV.

Why do some African Americans feel the need to make everything racial? All throughout the ‘80s, I had to put up with people getting in my face and saying “Hey, Vern, knowutimean?” It was an annoyance, but I never saw it as a conspiracy against me on the part of Hollywood.

VERN SAWYER

Gardena