Your Opinion: Education is the key

Dear Editor:

It was gratifying to see a former U.S. senator and now college president come out strongly against the racist behavior of some college students in Oklahoma. Of all the states where I have lived and worked I found Oklahoma one of the most racist states in the country. Perhaps because I lived and worked in the part of the state that is referred to as "Little Dixie."

But some of the mean racist statements I heard come out of the mouths of lawyers, doctors, school teachers who do not hold a candle to what I have experienced in other states where I have lived and worked. I have found that states like Virginia, Kansas, Texas and Missouri have their share of mean spirited, racist people.

While I was working to support my family I did not speak out and confront the elites of society about such behavior. I worked hard to find a job someplace where I could raise my family in a culture free of racist statements and comments. I learned early in my life that when you put yourself on the altar of justice and speak truth to power only a few people come to your aid and support because most people do not care and a few are glad of it, has been my experience.

There are places like Ferguson all over this country. In this year of our Lord 2015 it is time not only for church leaders to speak out and comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable but everyone in every walk of life should be active to end racial injustice and all the other social injustices in our culture today.

We still run our schools on an agrarian calendar like we have for more than 100 years. Most of our school boards in this country are still dominated by white, conservative middle aged men who have a marked propensity for sports. Most states give lip service to education. Most school superintendents wait anxiously for the end of the legislative session in each state to find out the amount of education funding they will have for the next school year.

We need to do better.