Letters to the Editor: Black liberation benefits everyone. One L.A. family's achievements are proof

Los Angeles Times Opinion
·2 min read
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 17: (L-R) Ninety-four-year-old activist and retired educator Opal Lee, known as the Grandmother of Juneteenth, speaks with U.S. President Joe Biden after he signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law in the East Room of the White House on June 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. The Juneteenth holiday marks the end of slavery in the United States and the Juneteenth National Independence Day will become the 12th legal federal holiday — the first new one since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was signed into law in 1983. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Opal Lee, known as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth," speaks with President Biden on June 17 after he signed a bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday. (Getty Images)

To the editor: I was deeply moved by the various articles The Times has published regarding Juneteenth.

Opal Lee, the 94-year old Texas activist known as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth," is my cousin and the current elder of our extended family. We are very proud of her outstanding work leading to the federal holiday that President Biden has signed into law.

Historian Susan D. Anderson mentioned in her op-ed article the migration of some families, notably those of former L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, from the South to California. Some members of our family also came from the South to California, where they took advantage of greater opportunities.

My uncle, the Rev. H. T. Broadous, founded a major church in Pacoima, where an elementary school in that neighborhood bears his name. Another uncle, Legrand H. Clegg II, was the city attorney of Compton.

All Americans should recognize the significance of Juneteenth and appreciate the many contributions that Black people have made to this country since their liberation in California and elsewhere.

Brandy Williams, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: I find it grossly disingenuous that the mostly white politicians in Washington are congratulating themselves on finally passing something, anything, with a bipartisan vote.

Of course it will cost nothing, thereby qualifying for the Republican vote. It will also not give any of our Black brothers and sisters anything that will improve their lives; it is merely a crumb from the master's table.

At the same time, the Republicans are attempting to take away more Black people's ability to vote in Texas and many other states, once again keeping African Americans from claiming their civil rights. I would much rather see Washington pass laws giving Black Americans what has been denied them since the Civil War.

Paul Elder, Malibu

..

To the editor: Now that Juneteenth is a federally recognized holiday, perhaps someone with the right authority can expedite the circulation of the Harriet Tubman $20 bill.

Back in April 2016, then-Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew announced that Tubman will be the first African American on U.S. paper money. That was more than five years ago.

It took less than four years of U.S. involvement in World War II for Germany, Japan and Italy to be defeated. Why is it taking longer to print a new $20 bill? Could the sinister power of racism be at work here?

David Quintero, Monrovia

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.