Letters to the Editor: Comments, reaction to project on racism, education

Thanks for project

I would like to commend the Lexington Herald-Leader for its support and promotion of racial justice and equality in this city of Lexington.

I am aware that the predecessors of the Herald-Leader, the Lexington Herald and the Lexington Leader, barely covered and nearly buried the civil rights movement of days gone by in this town. In 2004, however, on Independence Day, the Lexington Herald-Leader pretty much issued an apology along with an explanation.

Now, with the Black Lives Matter movement and with the protests of the past summer, the Herald-Leader has more than made up for the earlier neglect. It has provided news coverage and has even had an editorial and opinion stance in favor. I am really impressed and delighted by the “Our Voices” project promoting Black voices and those of others.

I am a white woman who grew up with segregation, but I didn’t understand it and didn’t agree with it. To me, people are people and deserve to be treated accordingly. From American history, I know that this has not been true in our country from its very beginning. Now is the time to make it right. Thanks to the Herald-Leader for doing its part.

Anne G. Woodhead, Lexington

‘Done that’

After reading the opinion piece by Shambra Mulder, I found myself disappointed in her viewpoint. She writes of attending all Black public schools and finding them beneficial. She promotes reparations for “...Blacks for continued injustices in public education since integration” and says Black students should choose all Black “separate but equal” schools. This is sad coming from the Kentucky NAACP education chair. In 1951, the NAACP argued in Kansas U.S. District Court in the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case that segregated schools sent the message to Black children that they were inferior to whites; therefore, the schools were inherently unequal. The Board of Education’s defense was that, because segregation in Topeka and elsewhere pervaded many other aspects of life, segregated schools simply prepared Black children for the segregation they would face during adulthood. The Brown case was ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1953 “...in the field of public education the doctrine of separate but equal has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore plaintiffs and others are deprived of the equal protection of the law guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.”

She is wrong. I’ve been there, done that.

DH Smith, Lexington

Pett cartoon

On Joel Pett’s editorial cartoon regarding Perseverance, the idea that these issues are decoupled and therefore space exploration is not as novel or salient a pursuit as the other issues mentioned is downright ignorant. NASA and space technology have driven the developments that make a green future possible from lithium ion batteries to solar cells. Additionally, Mars is a planet that has undergone a significant change in climate resulting in inhospitality. The exploration of the geological evidence surrounding this evolution can bring further urgency and understanding to the events here on Earth. Their current research would also be vastly helpful to our situation. Martian missions would require the manufacturing of fuel from the local atmosphere driving carbon capture research. Additionally, green tech needs metals and elements that are just cleaner and safer to source in space.

Furthermore, attacking the pursuit of science for the sake of furthering knowledge is just a bit ironic coming from a commentator who frequently attacks people on the right for ignoring science. It is really a question of the value placed on bettering humanity’s understanding of the universe. One can’t say they value science then attack its pursuit when it doesn’t match their perception of need.

Austin Gabhart, Lawrenceburg

Balance needed

Wow, the Herald-Leader has certainly chosen the subjects that it thinks are so important to me! What would we do without knowing Will Smith is planning to boycott Georgia? But there is no mention of the crisis at the border? I’ve looked for anything on this topic and nothing.

I’ve got to hand it to the Herald-Leader for being silent on any important matter that is caused by the current administration. No doubt it would have been on the first page for the next four years if this was going on with the previous administration.

Can’t the newspaper at least try and be somewhere in the middle?

Diane Kerr, Lexington