True colors
As a former back-up singer, I have had the privilege of knowing Nat King Cole, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan and many other famous black entertainers. Many of us white people are not aware that they were hired to headline leading hotels as performers but were not allowed to stay in the hotels, because they and their musicians were black. On a singing tour in the South in the 1950s, I saw signs everywhere at restrooms and water fountains with “whites only” and “no colored.” As a white senior citizen, I feel I must write this insignificant, little letter in response to the excellent TV program about racism in America shown on MSNBC, a channel everyone should be watching in general. Too many of us allow fear and stereotypes to influence us. I have been cheated out of thousands of dollars by loaning money to people I trusted who never paid me back. I have had my pockets picked. I have been mugged. I have had my camera case slit open with a knife. I have had a front door of an apartment broken down by a burglar. All done by white people, but not one black person has ever done me any harm. So, why fear them? Sadly enough, I realize that I do not have one black person as a friend now and that I only come in minor contact with anyone who is black. How can I possibly have any idea of what they believe or what they are feeling? America has become a divided nation, because we isolate ourselves and do not make any effort to get acquainted with anyone who is different from ourselves, and we listen to certain leaders and one particular TV channel I won’t name, where they are doing their best to turn us against others who are black, Latino or LGBT. Let’s all try to treat others in a more compassionate, understanding way and make an effort to get to know them personally. As for myself, I do a very strange thing for making contact, by smiling and saying “hello” to every black person I encounter. It no doubt surprises them and makes them think I’m weird, but at least I’m doing something, until I start inviting strangers to dinner!
R. Allen
Long Beach
