The beat goes on

I have been waiting a long time to have hip-hop clarified and appreciate that Todd Boyd did just that (“Working Both Sides of Street,” March 6).

I’m 82 and taught in Pacoima from 1970 to 1990. I was already beginning to hear my sixth-graders rapping “Black Is Beautiful,” doing break dancing and displaying their play game of “Pizza Pizza Daddy-O.”

Oh, that we had candidates who could look to hip-hop for integrating instead of dividing our diverse population!

Hilda Lerner

Encino

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Todd BOYD’S essay was insightful. It is sad that it has taken this long for a culture to find a place in the “mainstream.”

Boyd’s comments about Chris Rock were telling! However, we all know Rock would not be where he is today if it had not been for Flip Wilson, Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor.

Even though Pryor did not solely host the Academy Awards in 1977, he set the stage not only for Rock but for counterparts like Johnny Carson to follow.

Michelle Roberts

Rancho Cucamonga