All I can say is “Amen” to the article written by Stacy M. Brown, “Activist: American Cares About the Flag Only When Blacks Protest,” in the Oct. 5, 2017 edition of The Informer. My question is, how does not standing for the anthem disrespect the flag? The anthem is a song and the flag is an object. Protesters are not burning the flag as some did, they are not urinating or defecating on the flag as some did — they’re just not standing for the playing of a song. That’s not disrespecting the flag, that’s not standing for a song! White America tries to find any reason to show that Black Americans are not patriotic, when in fact Black Americans are more patriotic than any other race of Americans ever, having given more, sacrificed more, served more and gotten far less than any. The fact of the matter is when you are Black and you protest the injustices in America there are some people, mainly white people, who just don’t want to acknowledge the fact that Black Americans are not treated the same as white Americans.
Barry Long
Washington, D.C.
Arts Can Be Students’ Gateway to the World
I was simply thrilled to read your article, “Kennedy Center Seeks to Bring Equity to DCPS,” by Sarafina Wright. The arts are a wonderful way to help open up a whole new world of experiences for students. While I was in school the arts showed me how math, science, history and literature all tied together. Without the arts I would have never wanted to study any of the other subjects. For so long all you read about was how the system had to cut the arts out of the instructional day in order to prepare for tests. Now with the partnership with the Kennedy Center, hopefully students will discover what I did, and be able to have a fully rounded approach to their education. Without the arts, civilization is nothing, and it’s time we started teaching that.
Karen Brothers
Washington, D.C.