Feeling Right at Home in the Cultural Mix

Re “West Coast Gumbo,” Opinion, July 6: How wonderful to call Los Angeles, the city where I grew up, the new New Orleans. Yes, there are many cultures here, and many of us who come from more than one culture. That is what I love about Los Angeles -- you can have a panaderia, gyros and Vietnamese pho place sharing the same parking lot; and you can have boba drinks with your Krispy Kremes at the local doughnut shop. More important, you can go to school and work with people who share ideas, music, books, politics and movies that challenge your own worldview every day.

We are all shaped by our neighbors and the prevailing cultures of our personal and work lives. Which goes to my strong belief that the more of the world we are, the more valuable we are. It is our willingness to be in the mix, and part of it, that contributes to the greatness of our hearts.

Victoria Lee-Jerrems

Van Nuys

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Jervey Tervalon implies that black people need to look to Latinos and Asians for family-centric values and to Asians to value education. My 1950s-era parents raised me with strong family values and a thirst for education. I wonder why black people can’t be expected to succeed on their own but must look to outsiders for role models?

Roslyn Lewis

Long Beach