Dear John Lewis,
Prior to reading “March”, I knew very little about the bombing of the church in Alabama. I knew the obvious details of what happened: 4 young girls were killed in a bombing targeted at a black church by a white male. However, I couldn’t understand why out all of the places, he chose a church. After reading the introduction of the book and learning about the horrific event, I soon understood. The white man used the bombing to send a message to the black community; he wanted them to remain in fear, and what better way to do that than hurting them in the one place they feel most protected. I also recently discovered through your book the merciless killing of Johnny Robinson and how the cop that murdered him wasn’t even prosecuted. In all honesty, nothing much has changed to this day. Police kill black lives constantly, and the maj
ority of them aren’t prosecuted and still have their jobs. The justice system, though is more equal than in the past, is still unfair to African Americans and reading this book allows me to see just how stagnant the justice system has truly been. We are still being discriminated against just because of the color of our skin (especially darker skin tones), stereotypes, racism, as well as the unending cycle of recidivism. As far as I’m concerned, not much can be done to end discrimination against African Americans. However, a step in the right direction could start with the faces of the U.S taking a stand against inequality, ending support of white supremacists/hate groups, and treating all cases as they would a white male. Truthfully, I am enjoying the book so far, and can’t wait to finish and share more feelings and thoughts.
Sincerely,
Micayla Aduhene