Letter: Whites benefit from inequities

Friday, July 13, 2001 | 10:12 a.m.

The Sun's July 3 editorial, which extols the vibrancy of patriotism in the nation for Independence Day, is very troublesome. It is difficult to accept that the Sun and other editorial writers gloss over critical failures in this society and, in fact, misinform and mislead those who read and rely upon them.

Your editorial concedes that those Founding Fathers indeed had warts and were significantly less than perfect, and that they did not measure up to their lofty speeches and writings. The world does owe them its gratitude for constructing a concept of governance, which can serve mankind well.

However, those are the same men who told one of my grandfathers (precise descendancy uncertain) that he was three-fifths the value of a white man. They thereby created the racial inequities which dog us today and will continue to do so.

It is disgusting to listen to the plaints of today's white citizen who proclaims his innocence of any of these injustices. This is sheer nonsense because today's whites have benefited each day of their lives by the unjust advantage they were given so long ago.

CALVIN D. BANKS