READERS RESPOND

If DeJoy is considered a ‘Trump donor,’ let’s look at the post office unions

The Sun and its staff writers, like the rest of the media, usually refer to Postmaster General DeJoy as a Trump donor (“Who is Postmaster General Louis DeJoy?” August 16). The purpose, of course, is to paint him as a lackey of President Donald Trump. His leading critics are Post Office unions. No mention is made of the fact that, according to the Open Secrets website, those unions have donated nearly $63 million to Democrats since 1990 while donating only $10 million to Republicans. Further, they have endorsed Joe Biden for president. Their complaints should be taken with an appropriate grain of salt. If Mr. DeJoy is labeled a Trump donor, the unions should be labeled Biden donors.

Robert C. Erlandson, Lutherville

Give Klacik a chance

I grew up in Baltimore. Back in the day, I attended The Catholic High School on Edison Highway and Loyola University on Charles Street. Now, I am saddened to drive on Rt. 40 and see the bad road conditions and the empty houses in East and West Baltimore. On Charles Street near Pratt and the IRS building, the road is full of bumps. It hasn’t been in good repair since William Donald Schaefer was in office.

Today I saw Kim Klacik’s video showing several slum areas in Baltimore. She wants to improve Baltimore and lower poverty in certain neighborhoods. Immediately, a Sun editorial appears questioning Ms. Klacik’s goals and ability to follow through to improve Baltimore (“Is Kim Klacik running for Congress, mayor or chief Trump enabler?” August 19). Why isn’t the Sun supporting Ms. Klacik’s run for the U.S. Congress? Kweisi Mfume had his chance to vote for infrastructure and revitalization in Congress, but Baltimore did not benefit.

I hope Baltimoreans will elect Ms. Klacik and give her a chance to learn the ways to get federal infrastructure funds, establish Opportunity Zones in Baltimore, and allow Baltimore’s kids to go to the school of their choice. Please rethink future editorials and be more open to someone who is taking the initiative to make Baltimore great again for everybody.

Dolores Hicks, Bel Air

Harris doesn’t need to check your boxes to be considered Black

I read Professor Jackson’s article in The Sun (“Who says Kamala Harris will be a good representative for Black Americans?” August 18). It is apparent that he’s not jumping up and down about having Kamala Harris in the vice-presidential slot on the Democratic ticket. He would have preferred, say, Stacey Abrams. I don’t think he’s alone. However, he does is list what I would call petty observations and trivialities to build a case against the selection.

There is presumption in the words that he uses to assign to her: “a deep sense of entitlement related to her lifelong privilege.” It is laughable when he takes a swipe at her parents for having Ph.D.s in biochemistry and economics: “While there are many African Americans with Ph.D.s, they are mostly doctors of education, divinity and theology, not nearly as often economics or scientific fields.” What does any of that have to do with anything? Her parents checked the wrong boxes?

I am African American. I spent my college years at Yale in the late ’60s and hold a Ph.D. in mathematics. Do these facts somehow make me less likely to be in a position to understand the Black experience in America? Have I somehow lost my African-American moorings? Perhaps if I throw into the mix the fact that my maternal uncle is a jazz pianist and the recipient of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, I can claim some Black points to stack against the other deviations.

To quote Professor Jackson once more: “Her Jamaican father has gone out of his way to emphasize his upper-class social views and racially mixed ancestry. What may serve in Jamaica for him as necessary truth-telling and complexity can play here as effective distance from the poor who must trace their roots to enslavement.” In fact, essentially every African American’s roots are complex. Many of us spend a great deal of time reflecting on our complex heritage. And all of us know that this complexity will not keep the knee off our necks. Kamala Harris knows this.

Mel Currie, Baltimore