Editor, The Beacon:
This letter was written to Darrick D. Mchee Sr., chair, Florida Commission on Human Relations. It was published in the February 24-March 2 issue. The Beacon:
Sir! Your mission statement and title sound very similar to the BS I received in 1943, my first year at junior-high school. It has been fashionable to give a Black person a human relations title since the 1970s.
Although the job was often called commissioner, it did not have any real authority and certainly no punitive power. It was essentially a job that the governor created to make him look good. He hired a Black person to do the titularly meaningful job.
We had fellowship meetings in which the only participants were Black.
Our white teacher (Blacks couldn’t get those jobs back then) explained to us the importance of building a community free from discrimination, hate crime and intolerance. We weren’t the ones doing these things.
Our country was inundated by race riots. These were simply white people killing Blacks without any reason. We were outmanned everywhere, except in the South where terrorism reigned.
This tripe is being written at a moment when our voting rights are being taken away by our employers. It’s also a time where more Blacks are dying from COVID and racial injustice at its highest point in many years.
Black history is learning about American history.
Human-relations education/change must start with the powerful and not the weak. The majority, not the minorities!
In my 89 years of life, I have not learned anything about Black achievements that has helped improve human relations.
As long as poor whites believe rich people should be on top, and I’m not a N-word, you are good for the next 89years. Your headline should read: (Whites) must create an environment that is free from discrimination.
Julius C. Bennett
Deltona
