THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 21, 1996 TAG: 9603200156
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Long : 158 lines
Congrats to classmate
The Maury High School class of 1940 would like to add their congratulations to classmate Albert Doumar on the occasion of his 50th anniversary at Doumar's located at 20th Street and Monticello Avenue.
Anyone who has ever watched Al make those delicious ice cream cones on the world's first ice cream cone machine knows it's like the popular song of the big band era: ``It's Fascination.''
Norfolk has experienced many changes since we were in school, but some things never change. Two of them are: Maury High School's continuing quality of education and the excellent quality of food and service at Doumar's.
We hope these two things will never change. Keep up the good work, Al.
Myrtle (Bowden) Simmons
Chairman
Maury Class of 1940
Reunion Committee
A bigoted threesome
I am shocked by the bigotry and prejudice of the three city councilmen as reported in The Virginian-Pilot on March 3. These men should take a refresher course in government and how elections are held in a free society. The ward districts are drawn so that the citizens may elect the candidate of their choice, not the candidate of their race.
I can only assume that Asian Americans or Hispanic Americans, in addition to European Americans, need not apply to Mssrs. Riddick, Collins and Green's government.
Mssrs. Riddick's Collins' and Green's right to speak out needs to be protected; the public needs to be aware of the attitudes of its leaders. Bigots should not be hidden; the light of public scrutiny should be shown brightly on them. The citizens of Hampton Roads are owed an apology from these men.
F. Karl Hammaker
Chesapeake
Racists come in all colors
On March 3, while reading the newspaper, I discovered to my great dismay that councilmen Collins, Riddick and to my surprise, even Green, were offended because a Mr. White, who happens to be white, was going to run for City Council in a so-called black district.
My parents looked forward to the day when a man was judged by the character of his heart and not the color of his skin. I too sing ``America'' for the same ideas they had - a color-blind society.
The three aforementioned council persons in my opinion are just what they claim they are fighting: racists. Somehow the three of them have become so embittered by years of what they see as racial injustices, they have become enslaved to it themselves.
Every day I see black or Afro-American politicians stating racism is killing or destroying America. They may be correct, but from where I live I see the anger, hatred and lack of discipline of some black youth as the closest thing black Americans have to fear or be concerned with today.
Recently, in St. Louis, a pregnant teen was murdered by a teenager. In Norfolk and Portsmouth a crazed gunman went on a murdering spree. In Norfolk a woman was killed and left in the middle of Dennison Avenue
I was last attacked by a black youth; I was last a victim of a crime by a black youth and most likely somehow I feel and believe my biggest concerns are from the killings blacks are doing to blacks.
Yet these three men are concerned with Mr. White running in a ``black district.''
For those people who are going to vote for one or all of these ``black leaders'' because they are black, please keep this in mind. Somewhere in this country, there is a black man running for office who will be voted for just because he is ``black.'' By the way, because these three men are offended, I am voting for Mr. White if he does not ask me to vote for him because he is white.
Dennis M. Brown
Norchester Avenue
In support of White
This letter is being written in support of H.T. ``Tommy'' White, who is seeking the position of councilman for the city of Norfolk.
I have known Tommy for over two years and have found him to be an enthusiastic supporter of any cause that helps our community. As director of Seton House, I worked closely with Tommy to organize two fund-raising golf tournaments and was pleased to learn that Tommy has the skill of motivating others to help those in need.
Seton House is a shelter for runaways and troubled teenagers; we are grateful for the support of wonderful people like Tommy White, and it is my personal pleasure to recommend him for the position that he is seeking.
As councilman, Tommy would have even more opportunities to continue to do what he does best: support his community. I am hopeful that he will have that opportunity to continue spreading the kindness that I know is present in all that he does for the Hampton Roads area.
Kathy Jeffries
Director, Seton House
Virginia Beach
Turning back history
In reference to the article ``Three dispute white man's run for council'' in the March 3 Virginian-Pilot, I am calling for the immediate resignation of the three black Norfolk city council members.
As a Norfolk resident of 10 years and a civic league president, I find it unacceptable that these councilmen are trying to make Norfolk a black and white issue again. We have been striving to gain racial harmony in Norfolk for some time, and now these councilmen want to push us back 20 years, because they want to keep Norfolk separated by race. If the situation were reversed and white city councilmen had made these remarks, they would have been sued by the ACLU and run out of office.
It appears that these councilmen feel that the black residents of Ward 7 do not have enough intelligence to vote for a responsible candidate, unless the only choices are black candidates. That would seem to be an insult to the intelligence of the black voters in Ward 7. I guess if we had ``black only'' wards and ``white only'' wards, then these councilmen might be happy.
These councilmen no longer represent me or the best interests of the city of Norfolk and they should step down now. It is a disgrace that these gentlemen, who are in a position of public trust, would make such openly racist remarks. In their warped thinking two wrongs must make it right.
Ken Grow
Ingle Circle
Vote for the best man
In reply to the article quoting Herbert Collins that Ward 7 should only be represented by a black council member, we supported Mr. Collins because we hoped he would represent the community as a whole.
Mr. White has already received phone calls from ``elected officials'' saying, ``Who do you think you are, we have already promised this City Council seat to someone else.''
Do our votes mean nothing?
Tommy White, in his profession as a fireman, never worried about whether he was helping a white or black person; he served everyone. I feel confident if he is elected to the city council he will represent Ward 7 for all citizens. Vote for the man who will work for our best interests.
Rose Burroughs
McGinnis Circle
Thanks for the event
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the management of Waterside and especially Francis Harris for the Black Expo event held during February to highlight the area's African-American businesses.
This is the second year for this event and it is an opportunity for both newly established and well-established black entrepreneurs to come together in a centralized location to share their wealth of talent, services and goods with the public.
Fortunately, this year's event was not dampened by the snow storm that threatened Norfolk that weekend and many citizens were able to talk with business owners, sample their wares or receive information on their services. In addition, it provided a forum for small business owners like myself to network with other people who may have common interests and can benefit from knowing each other.
The Waterside, with its eclectic mix of people and shops, made an ideal setting for this event. The recognition of minority businesses by the management of Waterside says to the black entrepreneurs of Hampton Roads area that we are an important and necessary part of the business community, and I think I can speak for all of the participants - we thank you!
Linda C. Goss
Maya Publications
East 40th Street by CNB