For some reason, we just never learn.
I am always amazed at how much trouble we as a society still have dealing with race. We like to think we have come a long way. I wonder.
The latest example of just how far we still have to go comes from Clifton Heights.
A couple of weeks ago, two black female entrepreneurs opened up a new shop on Baltimore Pike. They sell T-shirts and other items. You’d think the borough would welcome a new business with open arms. Most did.
Most, but apparently not all.
The store owners were stunned this week to learn someone had left a rather ugly un-welcome greeting on their business.
Racial graffiti had been spray-painted on the sidewalk outside the business. The implication was pretty clear. They were not welcome.
There is a bright spot to this sad saga. First, Pamela Williams and her business partner, Tylanda Whitney, have no plans of leaving, despite what they say have been several incidents in which they’ve been made to feel less than welcome.
“I’m not moving,” Williams said. “They’ve got to come a lot better than that, because I haven’t really begun to fight.
Good for her.
Now it’s time for the community to take action. Police Chief Walter Senkow said his department is taking the case very seriously.
Williams got phone calls from the mayor as well as state Rep. Nick Micozzie, R-163. Now it’s time for the community to chime in and let people know that the days of racial intolerance, bullying and trying to intimidate people are over.
In the words made famous in another racial incident from just a few years ago, “Can’t we all just get along.”
You have to wonder if we ever will.
I am always amazed at how much trouble we as a society still have dealing with race. We like to think we have come a long way. I wonder.
The latest example of just how far we still have to go comes from Clifton Heights.
A couple of weeks ago, two black female entrepreneurs opened up a new shop on Baltimore Pike. They sell T-shirts and other items. You’d think the borough would welcome a new business with open arms. Most did.
Most, but apparently not all.
The store owners were stunned this week to learn someone had left a rather ugly un-welcome greeting on their business.
Racial graffiti had been spray-painted on the sidewalk outside the business. The implication was pretty clear. They were not welcome.
There is a bright spot to this sad saga. First, Pamela Williams and her business partner, Tylanda Whitney, have no plans of leaving, despite what they say have been several incidents in which they’ve been made to feel less than welcome.
“I’m not moving,” Williams said. “They’ve got to come a lot better than that, because I haven’t really begun to fight.
Good for her.
Now it’s time for the community to take action. Police Chief Walter Senkow said his department is taking the case very seriously.
Williams got phone calls from the mayor as well as state Rep. Nick Micozzie, R-163. Now it’s time for the community to chime in and let people know that the days of racial intolerance, bullying and trying to intimidate people are over.
In the words made famous in another racial incident from just a few years ago, “Can’t we all just get along.”
You have to wonder if we ever will.
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