Obama’s Race Speech
Having taught at black public schools and read extensively on African American studies, I fully empathize with the plight of African Americans and their anger and frustration (“We Have A Dream,” Washington Journal, March 21).
However, Obama’s cursory inclusion of Asians-Latinos in the speech may not convince many sitting on the fence that Obama’s “more perfect union” will be a friendly one to Asians-Latinos.
Latinos, more so than any other group, are in direct competition with blacks for limited social and economic resources. Asians, similarly, experience hostility and harassment from blacks in schools and workplaces. Many Asians fear that an Obama presidency might lead to more frequent and intense social conflicts with blacks.
Asians and Latinos hope that Obama’s victory will be a victory for all people of color, and not just African Americans.
In-Chul Sohn, J.D.
Houston, Texas, March 20
For all the wonderful rhetoric and tantalizing promise of Sen. Barack Obama and his speech, there’s not much that is actually new here. Obama’s speech was largely a restatement of Jeremiah Wright’s indictment of America, delivered in University of Chicago parlance instead of South Side Chicago diatribe.
Barb Nagakawa
Via Web site, March 25
Fight Over Little Saigon
I can’t believe you have shown such a lack of understanding and compassion for the name “Little Saigon” (“Too Late for Little Saigon,” Giang Ho, March 14). It’s not just symbolic, but the whole reason why refugees left Vietnam decades ago. Communism is not just a name, is it?
What you are saying is like asking the Jewish people to move on and forget about the Holocaust and embrace the Nazis. We first-generation Vietnamese Americans still want to distance ourselves from Vietnamese Communists. Moving on is not the same as forgetting.
Andrew Tran
Via Web site, March 22
AZN Television: Off-Air
My wife and I enjoyed Korean dramas on this channel and were puzzled by it being taken away (“AZN Television To Go Off-Air,” Feb. 1). I called my cable company and came upon the sad news.
Hope that similar services may be available somewhere. Thanks for broadcasting, AZN. We will miss you.
Joseph Lee
Columbus, Ohio, March 21
The Murder Of Pheng Lo
The lending of your voice to Pheng Lo’s story places you in the alleys and closed doors where Hmongs have repeated the same concerns (“Six Degrees of Assassination,” Emil Amok, Jan. 4). The story of a people who secretly paid a high blood price to defend democratic values in the remote jungles of Laos is an important lesson in American history.
I would argue for more coverage of the quiet struggle our men and women in uniform take on after defending democratic values in the Middle East; the stories of other freedom fighters parallel their sacrifice. The Hmongs were shocked to find that veterans who fought alongside them in Laos returned home to a somewhat indifferent nation. It is due in large part to the friendship of these returning veterans that the Hmongs had another avenue of hope and the will to become better the next day.
Xang Solomon Yang
San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 8
Correction:
Adelaide Chen was the writer of the March 21 story, “J-Town Concerned About High-Rise Plans.”