When John Lewis died, I made a commitment to re-educate myself on his accomplishments, his bravery, and his sense of non-violent nobility.
Toward this end, I read his nationally acclaimed trilogy about the civil rights movement. MARCH 1-2-3 is an incredible graphic arts accomplishment that captures the passion, violence, police brutality, political prejudice, and inspirations of young college students from across the nation who risked their lives to register Black voters, desegregate lunch counters, theaters, and bathrooms and stand up for basic civil liberties.
The chronology takes place throughout the civil rights movement, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and President John F. Kennedy, the historic moment of Rosa Parks, the murder of three young freedom fighters buried in a mud hole, the bombings and deaths of little girls practicing in a church choir, andthe brutality of the beatings at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.
The sad reflection of the read is how little has changed. How police suppression continues, how disenfranchisement (seen in the recent postal scandals) has not diminished, and how institutional racism continues.
I want a sheriff who stands by all the people of the county with professionalism and compassion.
I do not want a sheriff who disavows the reality of classism and prejudice, who engages in banter with Tea Party supporters, and flouts mask wearing. I do not want a sheriff eschewing medical advice or who, born of extreme privilege, doesn’t understand systematic racism.
Is Ian Parkinson San Luis Obispo’s best representative?
I want a district attorney who represents all of the people of the county without prejudice.
I do not want a district attorney who declares that, despite California guidance, he is the sole arbitrator of what should be deemed appropriate to prosecute. His affiliation and connection with a conservative out-of-state anti-LGBT group is shattering. He can decide when to prosecute or not prosecute LGBT hate crimes as his sole prerogative, he is the authoritarian arbitrator?
Is Dan Dow San Luis Obispo’s best representative?
I want a San Luis Obispo city police chief who can communicate effectively with her college constituents.
I do not want a police chief who decides to promote multi-felony and misdemeanor charges for a 20-year-old student she claims to support and does not want to harm, in the name of a “teachable moment.”
Is Deanna Cantrell San Luis Obispo’s best representative?
MARCH 1-2-3 is a read that will resonate. I especially urge Parkinson, Dow, and Cantrell to read the book and reflect.
I am sad for the country and sad for a place that I love that refuses to learn and be educated.
Stephan Lamb
San Luis Obispo
This article appears in Aug 27 – Sep 6, 2020.
Pretty much everyone I know admires John Lewis. But the suggestion that the Civil Rights movement is as needed today as in the past suggests that the writer’s narrative is disconnected from today’s reality. Find a single law on the books today which permits any form of discrimination. Show us facts which back up your claims of bias. So far as I can tell, today’s society, especially here on the Central Coast, is colorblind; as it should be.
As for the repeated claim of “systemic racism,” it is designed to assert that racism exists without any foundation for the assertion. Prove it. Give us some facts. I am not a racist, nor is anyone I know. Creating a fiction to justify violence is ridiculous.
Clovis Dad: You and I and those we know and spend time with may not be racist, however, we probably know of others who are and proud to be so.
If we cared to ask our non white friends and neighbors if they are wary of law enforcement or find themselves treated differently by others, we would open the door to their stories and be ashamed of our fellow Americans.
Everyone:
The problem is not just racism.
In fact, it is not really racism.
It is authority figures who demand others bow to their authority.
It appears more dark pigmented individuals are asked to bow to authority and resent and react just as you or I would and pay severe penalties for not obeying immediately.
It is time for this to change.
We need fewer laws whose only victims are manufactured by the laws existence.
We need less “Obey Now or Else” and more “How can We Resolve this without using force or violence?
We The People are asked to do exactly that [resolve without force or violence].
Why not officers of the law?
And, for that matter, our government?