While the Maine Council of Churches neither endorses nor opposes any candidate for elected office, we must speak out when a line is crossed that violates the spirit of civil discourse in elections. Further, we must take a stand when the nature of a political attack is unmistakably and purposefully racist in nature. The display […]
racism
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Woman calls out Auburn school official Chris Langlis for ‘racist’ post
On Tuesday, Rae Washington, an African-American graduate student in Texas, posted a comment on Macy’s Facebook page responding to a promotional giveaway for a makeup bag. “Ohh that bag is too cute! Looks like I have some shopping to do!” Washington posted under her FB name, Cho Large, with a profile photo that clearly shows […]
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Posted inLetters
S. Drane: Put an end to hate groups
Why is there so much continuing hostility between whites and blacks on a national level? There have been 150 years pass since the Civil War ended, yet it seems that thousands of white people are still stuck in the South’s reconstruction period, filled with anger, hostility, pain, bitterness and depression. The resentment has never abated. […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Bethel, Oxford Hills
When Telstar High School flew the Rebel flag
BETHEL — In the spring of 1992, Telstar Regional High School teacher Rodney Abbott faced a difficult task. He had been asked by Ted Davis, then the Telstar principal, to explain to the student body why they needed to relinquish the use of the Confederate battle flag as a school symbol. “I had received a […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Judge rules Auburn man will have single trial for all charges
AUBURN — A judge ruled Tuesday that a racial bias charge will be included with road rage charges at a single trial for a local man. The attorney for Adam Getchell, 32, had filed a motion seeking to separate the charge. But Androscoggin County Superior Court Justice MaryGay Kennedy ruled against Getchell, saying all of […]
Posted inOp-Eds
So many people cannot face reality
Maybe some people didn’t understand the question. It was posed in this space a few weeks ago by Tracy, a self-described 55-year-old white woman from Texas who is sick and tired of the mounting litany of police violence against unarmed African-American boys and men. She wanted to know what actions she, as an average person, […]
Posted inLetters
M.J. Newell: Police officers keep us safe
I am so tired of hearing that police officers are racist murderers. Law enforcement is one of the most dangerous jobs out there. Police officers have to deal with the worst of the worst and have to be pleasant and polite, even when the bad guys are cursing them. They risk their lives every day, […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Leonard Pitts: How can we stop the brutality?
“There comes a time when people get tired.” — Martin Luther King, Jr., Dec. 5, 1955 Tracy is tired. She was tired even before Baltimore burned. I received an email from her on April 12. She wanted me to know she is a 55-year-old white lady from Austin, Texas, who is tired unto tears by […]
Posted inLetters
F. Kieliszek: Principled leaders needed
Maybe I missed it; I had to go out of state for a family wedding. But I had read that Sen. Mike Willette had posted multiple racist items on his Facebook page. He said he wasn’t really a racist. Willette did step down from his committee chairmanship. I had expected that there would be some […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Martin Luther King Jr. legacy misinterpreted, speaker says
Joseph was the keynote speaker at Bates’ MLK Jr. Day: “From Selma to Ferguson: 50 Years of Nonviolent Dissent.” An author, national civil rights commentator and Tufts University history professor, Joseph introduced himself as a native New Yorker. Growing up, his mother was a trade union worker. “My first picket line was in New York […]