Letters to the Editor: Will Black Americans finally receive justice?

To the editor: Thank you for publishing reporter Tyrone Beason’s first-person article about his road trip from Charleston, S.C., to Washington for President Biden’s inauguration last month.

As one who has marched since the 1960s for ending blatant racism, I am appalled that so little has changed. But maybe, just maybe, this is the time and this is the chance.

Beason’s story should be required reading for adherents of the former president as they — and he — await their day of reckoning for their blatant racism and their fascist attacks on our republic.

Anne Proffit, Long Beach

..

To the editor: As a white person who has lived all my life in California or New York, I feel that Beason’s article allowed me at least a glimmer of the experience of a Black person living in America, particularly in the South.

Beason’s description of his road trip from Charleston to Washington left me with a new appreciation for the burdens our Black friends and neighbors must bear — for it is not just the fear of violence or unfair treatment today that they carry with them, but also the long history of that mistreatment in their own family trees.

Joanna Ryder, Hermosa Beach

..

To the editor: Thank you for Beason’s article. We need to hear more Black voices.

I was devastated about the killings in the Charleston church in 2015, in part because I lived in that city during my high school years. I knew when I was young that segregation was wrong, but I didn’t know quite what to do about it.

My church, St. Mark Presbyterian in Newport Beach, has always welcomed anyone on their spiritual journey, and last year it started book study discussions on racism. This weekend, our pastor preached about white supremacy. We know the saying, “The most segregated hour of the week is 11 a.m. Sunday morning,” and we are trying to change that.

I think racism may be the foremost problem confronting us today.

Suzanne Darweesh, Fullerton