The scathing Department of Justice report regarding the treatment of African-American citizens by police calls for a period of reflection by everyone ("Baltimore Police fail to police themselves, Justice Department finds," Aug. 10).
We really need a communal examination of conscience. As Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said, we need to "heal our city."
Where have we failed as citizens and how have our institutions failed us? As individuals what have we done to continue a history of racism in our city and state?
We know that some of our most important institutions have enabled racism to continue in both overt and covert ways.
The Johns Hopkins University continues to treat African-American employees poorly. Some of the early brilliant minds at Hopkins were racists. The damage caused by the school's history of poor treatment of African-Americans has not been adequately addressed.
The Archdiocese of Baltimore has a longer history in Baltimore and a truly inexcusable record of racism. I am old enough to remember segregated Catholic schools, segregated Catholic hospitals and segregated Catholic orphanages in Baltimore. The Archdiocese has failed over and over again to put the message of the Gospel into practice. A reset of priorities is way overdue.
Some angry white people claim that they came from poor backgrounds but through hard work they were able to advance. They fail to acknowledge that they had access to opportunities denied African Americans.
The same people profess a concern about black-on-black crime while downplaying the problem of white-on-white crime.
They profess a concern about family dysfunction in the African-American community while conveniently ignoring the very real problem of family dysfunction in the white community.
The bad news for white racists is that the era of white privilege is finally coming to an end. It's time to move on.
If we really believe in the American way of life we have to accept the fact that we were all born with equal rights. Lincoln may have freed the slaves, but he wasn't able to end the mistreatment of our fellow citizens. We need to do much better.
We know that the Baltimore City Police Department is not the only law enforcement agency in the state with rogue cops who feel that they can mistreat citizens. They need to change or find another occupation.
I actually believe that people can change. What makes this period different is that we must change to move forward as a people.
We also have to invest in our communities so that they can be stronger. I believe that Baltimore has strong leadership in Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Police Commissioner Kevin Davis. I hope that other leaders in Baltimore and the state will rise to the occasion. We can't allow another generation to deal with problems they did not create.
Edward McCarey McDonnell, Baltimore