Regarding the article “Residents Tackle Intolerance” (Weekly New, Sept. 3), I too am troubled by the stolen signs from private residences, and particularly vulgar graffiti.
Our family has lived in Lynnfield since 1957. We were burglarized twice and lost family heirlooms which was most unsettling. Only one theft was solved with some items returned.
In the article, the victims say the “message” is important yet the slogan for Black Lives Matter (BLM) does not do enough to explain their position. It suggests exclusivity. Unfortunately, the paper did no better. A sample of BLM’s mission, as stated on its website, calls for:
“We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and ‘villages’ that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.”
On the one hand BLM says they are supportive, yet in the same sentence they want to “disrupt” the “Western-prescribed nuclear family structure,” which is inconsistent. In yet another statement BLM says “comrades” which suggests people of like mind. It is a term associated with communist parties.
If BLM’s main focus is the fatal shootings of Blacks by police officers the difficult question of “why” needs an unfiltered lens in order to resolve this all around human tragedy.
When my husband and I were growing up in Lynnfield there were few families other than of European descent. Today, we have a diverse community of nationalities of varying religions and political persuasions. Of the wonderful families living here for generations that I know would welcome newcomers into their neighborhoods and homes as we have done.
BLM supports reducing (commonly called defunding) police budgets by 5 percent. Count us out. We have enormous respect for our police and first responders. They risk their lives never knowing how it will end. Over the decades they have answered our calls within minutes when a family member was gravely ill and our calls for strangers in trouble on our busy street. Our main concern for our law enforcement is supporting them in rescue and preservation of life.
On a personal note, some 38 years ago I participated in an internship in West Africa. Our group of 15 consisted of a Black doctor, social worker, dancers from New York City, and photographer and white art and music students. We were Black and white together eager and excited to learn about Senegalese culture. Our days spent in small remote villages with personal instruction one on one and in groups sharing in their knowledge and way of life. We all were enriched.
On two separate visits, I have been to the House of Slaves on Goree Island. The warm embrace and appreciation of our stay touched my heart. I am forever grateful. Today I could be accused of white privilege and cultural appropriation without knowing anything about my family’s suffering. What a step backwards.
Just two weeks ago I read of another boat carrying African migrants succumbing to the waters trying to get to southern Europe, all because they don’t have the opportunity we have to feed themselves and their families. This is heartbreaking. It’s a basic human need.
In 1983, I did not want to stay in Lynnfield. My first apartment was a walk-up third floor unit on East 96th Street, then considered the end of Spanish Harlem. Millie was my neighbor on the third floor. She was Black. She had two very young children from two absent fathers. She always smiled at her doorway and was happy and eager to make conversation. There was never a sense that either of us didn’t belong there side by side even though our pasts and skin colors were different. And at that time, my first employment was by one of the original 200 Peace Corps volunteers who later founded his own business located on the second floor of El Museo del Barrio on East 105th Street where I walked to and from my apartment. He happened to be Black. At that time, he had more confidence in me than I had in myself.
I feel fortunate and humbled to share a birthday with the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. His incredibly moving and now historical “I Have a Dream” speech apparently to some, has fostered little effect. Instead, the cry of racism has only increased.
Lia Zulalian- Moynihan
Lynnfield
