Letters: Akron police, city leaders reflect prevailing racial attitudes; protect wildlife
It's true: Blacks are treated differently
I want to thank Holly Christensen for her courageous column (“Liming tragedy shows need for justice for all,” July 10). She stated what I have thought but been afraid to say. The actions of two groups of young people have been viewed through the racial attitudes in our community and society at large.
Raising three biracial children in an overwhelmingly white neighborhood in Akron in the 1990s, I witnessed one of my sons being stopped by police in our front yard and asked what he was doing there. Later, my young teenage son was stopped in the street behind us, leaned up against a patrol car and searched. He was not released until a white neighbor came out of his house and identified my son as a neighborhood kid. Just being Black was enough to make my children appear suspicious.
Black people, and particularly young Black men, are treated differently in our community. This is a fact we need to own. The police and our city leaders reflect the racial atmosphere which pervades our society.
More: Kenyona 'Sunny' Matthews: We owe Jayland Walker justice. We owe him grace.
Ethan Liming’s death was a tragedy. So was the death of Jayland Walker. Let’s not let knee-jerk racism lead to more tragedies.
Alison Seefeldt, Akron
White Pond development not welcome
As a longtime resident of Akron, I strongly feel it would be in the city’s best interest not to develop around White Pond Drive. There is a healthy population of amphibians there —the frogs sing to our community each spring. Developing this area is sure to silence them, in addition to being a gross misuse of taxpayer money.
I have to question why the leaders of our town feel the need to build on wilderness when there are plenty of already developed areas they could increase housing capacity in, like downtown, around Summit Lake, or along Vernon Odom Boulevard. If housing is needed, more of it should be developed in these areas, but I question whether we need it at all since the population in our city is not rapidly growing.
What we really need is healthy ecosystems, like the one on White Pond, to provide us with pest control and balance critical cycles. When materials fail to cycle in the ecosystem, things such as global warming and nitrification of the soil occur, making it more difficult for us to grow food.
Simply put, we can’t keep tearing down our green space forever or else our ecosystem is going to collapse. The people in this community should all try to take care of each other, and part of that is living in a way where individuals in the future will have a hospitable planet. The more wilderness we destroy, the less chance we’ll have of doing this.
Charissa Soful, Akron
Homes push out turkeys, other wildlife
Wild turkeys used to be prevalent in the Sourek Trail neighborhood until 60 acres of woodlands were clear-cut for a housing development. We’ve also seen the decline of deer populations, groundhogs, skunks, raccoons, bats, hawks, herons, owls, opossums and luna moths.
Reread the last paragraph of the article “State believes drop in wild turkeys is due to weather” (July 14): “When people change landscapes they inescapably alter habitats. Some creatures adapt, some thrive, some don't do well, some disappear for a time, some vanish for all time.”
Vicki Lee, Sourek Trail neighborhood in Cuyahoga Falls
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Young people in Akron treated differently based on race
