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Race is not a card to play
Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007
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I am once again appalled with active efforts to recruit, hire and promote people in connection with their race. Any final decision based on race, religion, sex, and so forth is in fact, one of the most offensive, painful and biased acts society produces. Isn’t that the exact inappropriate action so much time, effort and money have been spent to eradicate? When will we just consider the qualifications of an individual when hiring?
The NAACP and local school leaders’ premise that ‘‘students need role models that look like them and can relate to them in order to succeed” (Oct. 10) is one of the most racist statements I have heard. As a child I was never taught to consider the race of people who affect me positively (or negatively). In fact, as I think of it now, if I were to take away my role models who hold minority status, I would lose half of them. My role models are based on their strength, courage and integrity, not race, sex or religion.
So again we play a numbers game. Does Janice Walthour of the local NAACP truly believe that the ‘‘achievement gap” is due to race rather than a student’s individual effort? My own efforts as well as my public school teachers’ made a difference in my life, not our skin color. When will we teach our children that race is not a card to play when one does not achieve? When will we truly teach our children the importance of hard work, responsibility and self dedication? Only then will a person achieve⁄earn absolute success.
Gary Banaszak, Great Mills
