NC should not spend $4 million on new monuments. Spend that on people instead.

Monument money

I’m happy to see the Confederate monuments coming down — symbols of racism and treason. But before we spend $4 million on new monuments, how about we spend that on people? Fund health care for the uninsured, including mental health and substance abuse. Provide aid for those left jobless.

Let’s kick in some money for housing the homeless and providing a safe place for prisoners who should not be facing a death sentence because our jails and prisons are overcrowded and unsafe. And if there’s a bit left over, let’s give some of it to our boards of elections so they can print and send ballots to everyone so we can have a fair, safe election.

Yes, let’s create new monuments, but not at the expense of the people we honor.

Susan Y. Siegel, Carrboro

Historical context

In Germany the ghostly walls of Auschwitz remain, along with museums depicting the horrors of one of the most tragic periods of world history. These relics are used in an historical and educational context to teach succeeding generations about the abomination of racism and genocide. In this century, the Civil War sculptures on their elevated pedestals do not belong on state capitol and county courthouses grounds. They should be relegated to battlefields and museums where they could be used to teach citizens about the evils of slavery, the carnage of the Civil War, the injustice of the Jim Crow era, and the continuing legacy of racism in its many forms.

Thomas K. Spence Jr., Sanford

NCSU names

As a proud NCSU alum and former tenured faculty member, I applaud the decision to rename Daniels Hall. However, it does not go far enough.

NCSU must eradicate the heritage of racism that is celebrated in the names of other campus buildings, including, but not limited to, Holladay Hall, Peele Hall, Polk Hall, Kilgore Hall, and Poe Hall.

NCSU should also immediately remove “the winds of Dixie” from the alma mater. When I served on the NCSU Faculty Senate in 2015, we passed a resolution to remove this racist language but no action was taken by the administration. Our alma mater should celebrate every graduate of NCSU, rather than re-inscribe white supremacy and racism every time it is sung.

It is long past time for NCSU to address these issues. While renaming Daniels is a start, it is simply not enough.

Sheila Smith McKoy, Oakland, Calif.

Being a black teen

I am concerned about the safety of Durham’s young black men. I am 16, a good student and an athlete. I’ve been a Boy Scout since I was six. My parents tell me I am a great kid. However, their anxiety level rises every time I leave the house. They run through a checklist to confirm that my appearance will not pose a threat to law enforcement or any anxious gun carrying citizen.

At a time when I should be getting to know myself, it isn’t safe for me to express myself in public. I cannot wear expensive shoes or drive a stylish car because police may mistake me for a drug dealer. My parents won’t let me pierce my ears, get a tattoo or wear hoodies because people may perceive me as being a troublemaker. I have to hide my blackness and blend in as a shade of gray.

Why does society make being black so hard? Why can’t life be more like Martin Luther King’s dream where I am not judged by the color of my skin but by the content of my character?

Todd Wall, Durham

Teacher pay

I read Kathy Harrington’s June 22 op-ed on NC Republicans providing meaningful teacher raises with irritated amusement. She’s right that Republicans have proposed pay raises in past years. She’s also right that Democrats have rejected most of them, usually because these were pay raises in name only. Democrats were right to reject teacher pay increases paid for by cutting teacher assistants or by increasing class sizes.

Teachers need more pay for the job they’re doing right now, without any additional workload being dumped in their laps at the same time. We cannot continue to shortchange teachers and still expect them to meet an ever higher standard. Either Republicans in our state government don’t understand this or they just don’t care as long as they can spin it their way.

Jean Paul Garnett, Apex

Larry Pittman

Regarding “Group calls NC lawmaker’s Facebook post inflammatory,” (June 21):

I find it odd that the people of Cabarrus County couldn’t find a better person to represent them in the NC legislature than Larry Pittman. He seems totally unfit for public service, not to mention the ministry, with his hate-filled rants and backwards positions on social issues. Surely they can find someone with compassion and a knowledge of the Constitution. Lord help us if he’s the best they’ve got.

Lynda Creutzburg, Wake Forest

This story was originally published June 23, 2020 at 12:31 PM.