THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 28, 1996 TAG: 9607310669
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 63 lines
There's no excuse for racism
I'm writing in response to the July 18 Beacon editorial (``It's time all of us address our racism'') by Kevin Armstrong. Believable enough, racism can be influenced and retained from generations. In a way, I agree with him but I'd like to include that people today are smarter to know the difference between right and wrong.
The story he heard about a girl and her family's way of cutting a roast makes a very good point on your view of how racism can be passed down. For years, people have tired to relate the hate of racism through pass-down generations. The movie ``Roots,'' for example, showed how white youths were taught not by their parents to hate but by blacks as well. To me, that's not an excuse for the problems with racism today; because if it were the case, we would not have gotten as far as we have. Today when you talk of the L.A. riots, burning of black churches, and looting at Laborfest, it's not the result of passed down influences. The fact remains of just plain old ignorance, which does still divide our society.
In closing, I'd like to make two final points. First, the decision you must make with kids being stereotyped is not for you to try and understand their hurt. This is about you seeing the truth. Finally, we all need to face the truth about our own racism. Racism can be taught only if we listen. We have always looked for excuses when racism arouses; nevertheless, we found them.
Excuses, that is! A word to describe what racism really is, should be ignorance; it's divided us for years and will continue to, until we stop making excuses for our actions.
Tommie F. Bell
Former School Board deserves credit
Now that it appears that the 1995-96 budget of the Virginia Beach school system will be balanced (Virginian-Pilot, July 17), I think it is appropriate to give credit to those most responsible for this positive outcome.
First I would like to commend my board - Elsie Barnes, Don Bennis, Susan Creamer, Linn Felt, Robert Hall, Tim Jackson, Karen O'Brien, Van Spiva, Joe Taylor and Ferdinand Tolentino - for their dedication, insight, and courage. They were the ones who had to continue to work responsibly and diligently under the most incredible scrutiny and criticism. They were the ones who had to make the tough choices and answer the angry phone calls. They were the ones who remained steadfast in spite of an accusing City Council, an overzealous commonwealth's attorney and an excessively critical and misinformed special grand jury. And they were the ones who fixed the problem while all about them were fixing the blame.
Next, I would like to recognize Dr. Timothy Jenney, Dr. James Pughsley, and Dr. Donald Peccia and his staff for their invaluable contributions in solving this problem. They provided the board with accurate financial information and sound recommendations that made it possible to achieve a positive outcome.
Finally, I say thank you to the employees of the school division and to the wonderful and supportive parents of our children. They stepped up last fall to offer their help and without them, we could not have succeeded. Our success was truly a team effort. I have said that the true measure of a school system is not how good you are when things are going well, but what happens when you face adversity.
I hope that our community will join together in support of Dr. Jenney and the new School Board as they work to regain public confidence in our excellent school system.
June T. Kernutt
July 18
Kernutt is past chairman of the School Board. by CNB