It is my hope and prayer that in the midst of this season we are in that you are safe and well. As a lifelong native and resident of Chestertown having lived through the extremely challenging period of segregation to integration during the 1950s and 1960s, I feel an obligation to express my opinion concerning the two murals being requested.
First and foremost, if you are not a person of color with a history of experiencing covert racism, overt racism, systemic racism, the pain of prejudice, denial and abuse only because of your skin color, it is absolutely impossible for you to comprehend what these murals will mean to African Americans, and other people of color. This is not about destroying the beautiful landscape of our town which we all love. It is about solidarity bringing awareness to an issue that is so overdue that many have become so comfortable with it to the point that it is regarded as acceptable if not correct behavior.
Treating another human being or race as second class citizens or insignificant is beneath what our country is supposed to be about. African Americans as well as other people of color in my over sixty years of being a resident of this county and town have never asked for much. Only to be treated just and equal which is our right as citizens of this country, state, county and town. We are seeking the support of the citizens of our entire Chestertown Community regardless of race, creed, color, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, social status, etc. to allow a collective statement to be made that we stand in solidarity supporting the painting of these two murals in the requested two prominent locations in our town to signify that we have seen, understand the suffering and desire that it cease never to occur again to anyone.
One year is not an unreasonable request to unify as a community and have intergenerational dialogue that will educate county residents and visitors alike. One year is not much to ask to make certain that this is not a moment in time but a movement to bring about respect, justice and equality for all starting right here in Chestertown. I want to go on record saying that I wholeheartedly support the painting of the two murals in the locations and duration of time requested.
Rev. Robert N. Brown, Jr., Pastor
Bethel AME Church, Chestertown
Pete Lomax says
I totally support a mural promoting racial equality.
I could never endorse a mural promoting a political agenda. BLM is too political.
The town can and should support positive messages raising up all citizens regardless of the color of their skin.
Cheryl & David Hoopes says
Thank you, Rev. Brown, for your letter.
“….if you are not a person of color with a history of experiencing covert racism, overt racism, systemic racism, the pain of prejudice, denial and abuse only because of your skin color, it is absolutely impossible for you to comprehend what these murals will mean to African Americans….”
You’ve hit the nail on the head for those of us who are white. You are right; we have absolutely no idea what these will mean. Plain and simple. We just do not know. But we’re listening. And we stand with you, in support of painting these murals.
Bob Moores says
What a great article of opinion expressed! I wholeheartedly agree with Reverend Bobby that the two murals are appropriate in promoting awareness and healing. I thought our election of Barack Obama was a sign of racial progress, but under our current president the situation has been reversed.
terri smith says
Sorry, just have to say this. ALL LIVES MATTER. Whether they be black, white, tan, orange w/purple polka-dots. They all matter…
Deirdre LaMotte says
Sorry but the orange with purple polka dots POTUS is not worth anything. He is vile.
And all lives only matter when it includes Black Lives. “All Lives Matter” is something said by people too afraid to say
“Black Lives do not matter”; it was the way of life in American the past 200 odd years. It is time to grow up and acknowledge
the necessity of understanding suppression and what it has done to our Black fellow citizens.
Patricia Deitz says
Thank you Reverend Brown for your eloquent letter. The Black Lives Matter murals are a small down-payment on the redress that is owed to Black families in this town. I am pained, as I believe many are, that the Black Lives Matter murals have generated so much opposition, all of it hollow excuses to avoid facing the layers and centuries of racism that you describe. I have lived my life in the bubble of white privilege, and also as the mother and grandmother of young women of color, as a social worker, as a political progressive, as a reader and as a participant in the attempts to explore my own unconscious bias. I have assumed that I was aware–or aware enough–of the outrages generated by the enslavement of Africans and perpetuated through all forms of racism in the history of this country. I am learning that I have been looking at only the tip of the iceberg. Since George Floyd’s murder on May 25, 2020, the iceberg’s chilling magnitude has been increasingly detailed by the protests, writings, op-eds, interviews, art, statements, historical accounts, panels and webinars of African Americans sharing their reality and their outrage. Chestertown: Paint the murals and commit to the work ahead to create a community with racial justice.
Paula Reeder says
Pastor, thank you so much for joining the chorus of those of us who are urging Chestertown government officials to do the right thing and finally acknowledge in a clearly visible, public and tangible way the value and importance of people of color in our community!
Juanita Demby says
But tell me did you suffer injustice or ever get pulled over with a gun pointed at you did you ever had to drink from a fountain that said white people only did you ever had to sit in the back of a bus ,did you ever seen a family member getting beaten with a stick by cops because white guys was trying to molest his sister but the cops beat him these things happen in Rockhall md to my family…Why you say it was our fault ? No because the color of our skin you say All lives matter you are correct but when you walk in my shoes or all the other African Americans and feel the way we was treated then maybe you can understand why we fight for equality and justice for All
J Pettit says
The problem I have with BLM is that all black lives do not matter. Its only the lives of blacks that die at the hands of police. The truth is more blacks are alive today because of the police not the other way around. Young black men are being slaughtered in every city in America and BLM is silent. The white privilege nonsense is a joke. I get up everyday and go to work. I have enough but not a lot. Please name a program that helps the white male.
Ron says
J. Pettit, you say BLM is silent when young black men are being slaughtered. BLM is a movement about human rights, my rights as a black man living and surviving in Kent County Md. The mural is a reminder that you J. Pettit won’t be pulled over and out of your car, have a cop feel threatened by your presence because you are “white” your lack of melanin will keep you alive, the melanin in my skin makes me a target. Kent County and Chestertown police know they are here to protect and serve, other jurisdictions may not acknowledge their pledge to protect and serve. Many black men and women, people of color are alive because of our police force but those that die by officers hands when the people they are shooting are unarmed is a travesty and shouldn’t happen. When it does happen again J.Pettit, will you stand up and be a supporter or will you deny my ability to exist without being bothered, just trying to live my best life like you. Stop being so selfish not to think about what you say and how you say it. BLM is a movement about police brutality and bigotry. If you don’t believe that police brutality is rampant, you can’t be so blind to say that racism doesn’t exist on the Eastern Shore, can you? Maybe you can and that is ok by you.
Katherine Spencer says
For all those who feel Black people are fabricating the need for support and radical systemic change: The documentary 13th opens with this statistic- the US has 5% of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s prisoners.
And quoting the NAACP website, some statistics founded in data: African Americans are incarcerated at more than 5 times the rate of whites. While white people make up a little over 60% of the population, they only make up about 41% of fatal police shootings. Black people make up 13.4% of the population, but make up 22% of fatal police shootings. Since 1970, our incarcerated population has increased by 700%.
Since 1991 the rate of violent crime in the United States has fallen by about 20%, while the number of people in prison or jail has risen by 50%.
Something has to change.
At the same time, poor Whites are suffering. The median salary for White men without a college education has declined since 1979. Suicide rates among this population have increased so much that it has affected life expectancy, something you read about in a recently published book called Deaths of Despair. The system is hurting Blacks (and has for all time), and it is also not serving working class Whites.
All the more reason to seek to understand and name each other’s pain. Ironically, many of the people who openly support Trump or state that All Lives Matter have much more in common with Blacks oppressed by systemic issues than they do with people like Trump.
Let’s name our suffering and start a discussion. And yes, Black Lives Matter.
Tom says
Not a word on behalf of unborn lives?
Deirdre LaMotte says
“unborn lives” is a subject that should between a woman and her doctor. No One Else.
Sue says
I believe it will enable conversations to our youth of why it is necessary to have this mural. Period
Ann Weber says
These murals are way overdue. Because of the atmosphere of racial division fostered by some segments of our society, it is now more important than ever to document the lives of people of color to underscore their place as full citizens of our countryl
Christi Willet says
BLM is nothing but Socialism and is a Terriorist organization. The mural should be removed to protect the people of Chestertown from these Anarchists. It is disgusting and has brought ugliness to the town.