I remember this article. You know what I DON'T recall? I don't recall if they were all white or not.

I suppose it took a trained eye to ferret out the racism in the article.

Keep up the good work, Kelly. Louis, Jesse, Al, et al would be proud.

LOL! neocon,

I looked and thought, how come there wasnt a view point by a guy? girls dont have a hold on all the worrying with prom! but the fact that they were white never really materialized. i thougth they were kids.

I didn't notice the lack of diversity in the article, either, but I don't think that confers some color-blind nobility on me.

That's the point of the letter, I think -- this kind of stuff may slip by a lot of people, even well-intentioned people, but it's possible that others notice it without themselves being malicious or race-obsessed.

The quick comparison to professional race-politicians seems unfair and unkind.

Maybe a more productive response would be, huh, I guess if I was a 17 year old black girl, or the mother of a black teen, I might have been excited by a prom article and disappointed that my community newspaper didn't show my part of the community.

Now, I would argue that not every photo set can or should be a microcosm of society, and that it's quite possible to overreact to a given article, and that skin-color is not the only way we can or should relate to people in pictures and articles, etc.

But just jumping down this woman's throat rather than engaging the thought she puts forward doesn't seem very productive to me.

If the letters blog is meant to foster stock responses, then I guess my point is moot. But if it's supposed to foster conversation and understanding, let's step back a bit.

I'm not really taking issue with the points raised by neocon and samurai -- yes, there are people who look for racial disputes everywhere, and yes, kids are kids no matter what the color -- but having made those points, is there more in the letter to discuss?

I think there is.

Thanks for listening.

You know something interesting? When CBS interviewed the Florida Gators after winning the national championship, they only interviewed black players. There was at least one white player in the starting five but he wasn't questioned. Which is surprising given the game he played. Why was that? I'm guessing it WASN'T racism.

Ed, I agree this person didn't come right out and accuse the newspaper as racists, but I really have a hard time believing that wasn't what this letter was about.

The sad fact is that somehow we feel that opinions about the prom would be different if they were coming from black kids versus white kids. My inclination is that the writer feels that people of different races view EVERYTHING differently. I just don't think that is the case.

Therefore, I see no need for the N&R to make sure they interview a segment of each possible race when doing this kind of article.

What's the real issue here?

How many brunettes were interviewed? Blue eyed kids versus brown eyed kids? Tall versus short? Rich versus poor? Fat versus skinny? Were there any fat kids interviewed? Must we represent ALL genetic traits in every interview?

It seems like the same old same old "let's accuse someone of rasism" card to me. About evert two months, someone writes in making an accusation about rasism. Like the Black child enjoying a watermellon, and the black basketball player animatidly arguing with a ref (yeah, like that doesn't happen by players of every race.

In our society, people of color are always saying that all they want is equality. Well part of equality is being passed over on certain things.

If the paper didn't print any views from a black teenager, I believe it shows that they were more intersted in writing an intersting story not being politicly correct.

How can black people as that they be treated as individuals with regards to race and not expect that when people turn a blind eye, they just moght not be involved in some things?

What's the real issue here?(Yellowdog)

Yellowdog, the real issue here is to keep the race non-issue's stirred up. It is a favorite past time of one particular race obsessed individual at the N&R. All you have to do is note who posted this letter and then compare it to the posters blog and you will understand the issue completely.

I read the letter as a reminder that everyone is invited to the prom, and that a fun article about the way kids view the big party might include a wider variety of kids.

Again, maybe it would be productive to stop consider the letter writer's possible meaning in a positive light, rather than jumping to the negative conclusion.

As for the statement by Dallas Williams (aka mrproduce) that there is some meaning to the fact that Allen Johnson posted this letter...that's just silly. Allen posted all the letters today -- the same ones that ran in the print edition -- and seems to do the posting from time to time, of letters hostile and friendly and indifferent. He is the page editor, after all.

As editor of the "The 'boro," I would like to share my thoughts.
A minority model who had been one of the volunteers for the prom photo-shoot had to back out very close to deadline. Because representing the community as well as possible is a priority for me, I made my best attempts to get another minority model to replace her.
Although it seemed inappropriate to have all white models representing such a diverse community, I could not have possibly scrapped the entire project because of it.
As the new teen-page editor, one of my foremost goals is to increase diversity on the page.

I wonder if Kelly Connelly Evans has ever noticed how much coverage the A & T Homecoming gets versus the Guilford College Homecoming? Kelly, I'd say your side is still WAY ahead.

JamieKennedy,

Did you just x me?

I gotta say I'm disappointed that you had a distinct prerogative to make sure to include a 'minority' in your photoshoot. So sorry to hear your token minority couldn't be there.

I'm surprised there isn't a phone list somewhere of minorities just clamoring to be the token black, latino, chinese etc in an interview.

Since you only planned to invite one minority, which minority did you choose? Were they black? Well, if so, then you missed out on the Latino or Asian opinion. By all means, they must be included. When you were considering diversity, did you also look at height, weight, sexual activeness, hair color, rich, poor, republican, democrat, etc?

mrproduce,

i don't know about how the posting occurs but there does seem to be a high number of these type letters posted by the same person. As Ed pointed out, it is probably just a coincidence.

What is not a coincidence, however, is the subject matter that person writes about on their own blog. From that, I'd agree that the word 'obsessed' catches it pretty well.

Think I'm just paranoid about the obsession. Click on Thinking Out Loud. The 5 viewable articles include the following subjects:

1) The Civil Rights Museum
2) Terry Griers work for the 'challenged' students
3) The Truth and Reconciliation Commission
4) The racial undertones of the Duke Lacross team rape accusation.

Yellowdog, now do think it is a coincidence?

Ed usually chimes in on the TOL Blog when Allen turns and runs, just as he did here. Go back and read some of the topics from last month and see who jumps in to take Allen's part. His lapdog of course. And Yellowdog , that ain't a coincidence!

Of course Ed says that Allen posted all of the letters. Yep, which means that he can pick and choose his race baiting topics. Check it out Yellowdog and you will see I am correct all the way up and down the line.
Also see how Ed loves to call me by my name instead of my blog name. It makes him feel as if he has some power over those who disagree with him.

For me I can see both sides--sometimes you have to go with what you've got---hence all the white pictures; and yes we are a diverse population and I for one want as much of a cross section that reflects the reality of the community.

As we work toward leveling the racial playing field, we all will make mistakes, so let's maybe accept that.

One thing tho, and this is my perception, that as a white person, I expect to see white because I a member of the dominant group and when I don't maybe I don't read further--and/or I expect that I will see an abundance of white the next day.

If however, I am a member of a minority group who wants the same representative exposure that other groups have received (maybe it is in part due to my never having really gotten it), I might be a little more sensitized to a lack of or under reporting of community information.
I don't think that that is unfair. I don't know Jamie Kennedy, but time will tell if he is for real. In the meantime, I trust.

Yellowdog, Yellowdog, Yellowdog--sometimes I think you get blinded by your own reflection in the mirror. I'm glad that you didn't miss observing the "absence of white representation" after the Florida game, especially after he played a whale of a game.

Dallas, I have no idea how they assign letter-posting duty at the N&R.

But Allen seems to have drawn the job today.

Look: all the letters today say "Posted by Allen Johnson." That happens some days.

Thus, he posted all the letters that they published in print today, including this one, and the ones critical of his guy Grier, too.

This posting stuff is just about the silliest argument I've ever seen on this letters blog, by Dallas or anyone else, and that is a real distinction.

One Word Ed. BULL!!!!!!

Give poor Ed a break, Mr. P. He's been having a tough time on his own blog, and he feels the need to take out his frustrations over here.

He's not doing a very good job ANYWHERE of bullying the people who hold him accountable for his words.

Dallas --

That's it?

You are presented with a clear and documented fact about Allen posting all the letters today, as he has on some other days, a fact as easy to check as scrolling up the letters page, and your only response is "bull"?

It's not a matter of opinion, or ideology. It's right there in front of you, and everyone still reading this long-tired thread can see it.

Why not just say what's obvious to anyone capable of reading, that you made a simple mistake about the posting of letters, but that you stand by your larger point, that Allen overemphasizes racial issues?

People might still disagree with you about the latter part, but it would give you more credibility than denying the obvious, which kind of makes you look foolish.

Ed, might as well give up with logic and Dallas. He is the guy that wants you to censure your personal emails to him! Go figure on that and compare it to this issue.

Shalom

The word is censor, I think.

Look, Allen has plenty of authority of what gets posted in the LTE regardless of who does the actual posting.

Secondly, as I mentioned before, you can see what Allen's favorite topic is by paying a little visit to his blog, "Thinking Out Loud' And I guarantee that he controls what goes there.

JamieKennedy, I apologize for what I said earlier. I thought about it and it wasn't really fair. You are in the newspaper business and it is your business to make sure you represent your readers' interest. I just wish we didn't have these barriers between us because of the color of our skin. Also, I really dug you in Malibu's Most Wanted. :)_

Third, It is disrespectful to address someone by any name other than what they prefer to go by. I never knew what mrproduce's 'real' name was until today and there is really no reason I should. Ed, just because you have decided to post under your real name doesn't mean everyone else wants everyone else to know who they are and where they live. And just because you know somebody's real name doesn't mean you have to go there. I usually respect your opinion on things and you usually express it with more class than I do, but not today.

You know what, YD?

You're right.

I apologize, Mrproduce. A reader at my blog picked your name out of an email, and our relationship has been rather contentious, so I jumped on it, but there is no need for that, so I won't do it again.

Also, YD, of course the editorial page editor has influence over what letters run...but let's be clear that all the letters that run on the page run online, and that when Allen posts them here it's not him cherry-picking but him doing an administrative task, and that letters chosen for publication are often critical of Allen, including his arguments on race.

So the implication that he chose to post this letter in a way different than some or all other letters are posted is flat wrong.

anyone who confesses to be a follower of Christ and would intentionally place a stumbling block in another Christians path....might ought to look closer at what scriptures say about it.
here is an example and let's assume all parties mentioned here are Christians : i invite you to my home for a meal and bible study and during that meal i drink a beer and after the meal you tell me that my drinking beer in your presence makes you very uncomfortable...i can tell you, oh well get over it, after all it is MY house and i can do what i want ( totally disregarding your feelings and bruised conscience )....or i can follow the scriptural teachings and apologize for my indescretion and be certain not to offend you in that manner in the future...even though it was my house and what i did was not wrong or sin, we are taught that our fellow brother/sister's conscience is MORE important than me/you satisfying our own desires ( that's Christ like ). for some this comment will seem out of place and perhaps for others it may not .............

hey mrP, i think you may have been picked upon in error...grace & peace my friend.........

Ed,

Thanks for your comments. I understand your explanation about letters to the editor and how they are posted.

Allen is sort of a fox guarding the hen house in terms of the lte. Anyone put in that position has a tough row to hoe. I have a hard time accepting criticism and I think that's a fairly normal human response.

I have no beef with Allen. I really feel pity more than anything else for people who view everything through a race lens. I feel like they must really feel battered and bruised all the time having to deal with that. If my view of the world was like that, I'd have a hard time remaining optimistic. Being the constant victim of prejudice can instill that distrust into anyone. The point is to stop being a victim and letting on that it bothers you. IMO. But I admit that I don't really know Mr. Johnson or how he got to where he is today. He walks a tough line between very different worlds being an educated black man.

I also understand what it is like to have a contentious relationship with another poster. It doesn't take much to start one. And most of the time, I've found, it doesn't take much to end one. An apology is a great start and I admire you for offering one to mr produce. Anyone who humbles themselves in that matter deserves forgiveness IMO.

Have a great weekend. It's going to be beautiful!

I've known Allen for several years, and although we don't talk or see each other regularly we have a nice friendship, and of course I've read his work over a long period of time.

I do not have any sense that he is battered or bruised, or that he sees himself as having had a particularly hard time of things in any sort of broad perspective, and I think he is a pragmatic optimist. And I don't see him as viewing everything through the lens of race.

Does he write about it? Sure. It remains a big story in this country, and I find much of what he says interesting and important.

In this case, a letter came in from a reader. I have no idea how many letters they get at the paper, or the process for putting them on the page, but to tie the publication of this one to Allen's views on race seems to me a stretch...and rather beside the point anyway. The reader had something to say, and she said it.

As all can see if they click on the name Mrproduce, my name will appear. I have no shame of my name but I do expect some decorum of respect in that those who see my name will limit their use of my name to e-mails. Regardless of who may or may not have picked out my name from anyone's blog it is still not proper Blog etiquette to use a person's name. As a "professional blogger" Ed should have known that. However he decided to take the contentiousness to a new level. That is within his right on his blog however it has a taint of arrogance to it when done on another blog.
That said in totally openness and honesty, I will accept Ed's apology. There is evidently an humble side of him instilled by his forefathers that I had not experienced prior to this. May humility continue to abound and blessing be upon it as it continues. I too shall attempt to temper my comments toward Ed.

Thanks, Mrp.

Text is a limited medium. Things said in writing often lack the nuance of expression we get in personal conversation.

I'm sure that some of the disagreements we've had -- and others have had -- in these comments and elsewhere would be punchlines and points well taken if we were talking over a beverage of choice.

That doesn't mean our differences on issues aren't real, or worth discussing. But even as a professional communicator, I sometimes fail to make my point effectively.

Best to all for a peaceful and meaningful Easter, a warm family Passover, or whatever it is that your weekend brings you.

Ed, we actually celebrate both Passover and Easter in our family and also in our congregation. So I thank you for the well wishes.
May Peace and Blessing be upon you and yours in this time of rememberance.