Leonard Pitts misses important points in 'erasure' commentary

Pitts misses key points in 'erasure' commentary

Opinion page readers would be better off to erase Leonard Pitts' Oct. 10 Opinion article "This is what erasure looks like" instead of reading it. Mr. Pitts would be a better journalist if he read Tim Hashaw's "The Birth of BLACK AMERICA" (2007) to be reminded there were centuries of history behind black people's struggles for relevance and participation in today's world.

I guess Mr. Pitts doesn't remember or never learned that Spanish and Africa ships brought black slaves to North America during the 15th century, or that most blacks were sold in Caribbean countries before Columbus sailed to the new world. Or that many Caribbean blacks migrated to the American colonies, started their own businesses and won their freedom before our Civil War. Or that President Abe Lincoln vigorously promoted the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1863 during the Civil War when more than 600,000 white men gave their lives to free black slaves, grant them U.S. citizenship and reunite a country torn apart by black slavery.

I'm not responsible for the Civil War, racism, white supremacy or current black violence and destruction of black neighborhoods. But I am responsible to speak publicly to support community integration of blacks and whites to safely raise their families and live together in peace and harmony. I believe ultimate peace between the races is possible, but made more difficult by Mr. Pitts and others who seem dedicated to the concept of racial hatred.

Richard Evanson

Palmetto

This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Leonard Pitts misses important points in 'erasure' commentary ."