As a former resident of Baltimore, I have always been proud to call the city my home. As of late, it is almost embarrassing to say that. There are white people who do hate black people. There are black people who do hate white people. However, these people are a small minority ("Racism killed Freddie Gray," April 28).
Haters are always going to hate. Without a bunch of psychobabble explanation, that is usually because they were raised in a neglectful or harmful situation. We need to focus our energy on the positive. I have two fine sons. If I were to tell them all the time how they have no power and everyone hates them, then they would get nowhere in life. They'd feel defeated.
We need to point our fingers at our successes. We have a black president of the United States, the most powerful position in the world. We have a black first lady. We have a black female mayor in Baltimore. As much as we might not like to admit it, many, many white people helped to vote these individuals into office.
Of course we need to bring injustices to light, but we also need to celebrate our police force and all the good they do. Many of our police are African-American. We all know they have one of the toughest jobs out there. Most of them are working hard to keep us safe. Let's not forget them.
Let's empower our kids by focusing on our positive role models, not by constantly telling them they have no chance.
Adele De Libera