Letters to the editor: Feb. 9, 2023
Thank you for attending March for Life
I would like to thank the students of St. Mary Catholic Central High School for participating in the March for Life, held in late January. It was the first march held since Roe v. Wade was dismantled this past summer.
My granddaughter from New Riegel, Ohio, was also there in Washington, D.C., along with many thousands of others wanting to defend pre-born babies.
I marched in 1979, only six years after the horribly bad decision of Roe v. Wade came down from the U.S. Supreme Court.
The more the young people speak up, the more the pre-born babies will have a chance at life.
Jo Ann B. Green, R.N., retired
Monroe
IHM Leadership Council responds to Tyre Nichols' death
IHM Leadership Council of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Monroe support the statement made by the National Black Sisters’ Conference on the death of Tyre Nichols.
The conference said: “…Yet here we are again, grieving the death of another young Black man, Tyre Nichols, whose life was taken at the hands of five Black police officers on a night in a quiet Memphis neighborhood. Tyre Nichols' life at the age of 29 was taken before he had a chance to fulfill his purpose. This young man was not a person to be feared or perceived to be a threat. He was a son, father and contributor to society; respected and loved by all who knew him. His only crime was being Black in the wrong place at the wrong time….”
Tyre Nichols’ death is evidence of the abuse of power and excessive force that communities of color too often experience at the hands of police. We stand with the National Black Sisters' Conference and demand justice for Tyre by calling for the following:
• Immediate passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 by Congress.
• More progressive oversight and accountability of police departments by the Justice Department.
• Local and state reform of policing.
• The end to police brutality that continues to plague Black and poor communities.
We stand by our sisters and brothers of color and recommit ourselves to raising our voices and working for systemic change in order to build the beloved community. We pray for peace and comfort for the family of Tyre Nichols and for the countless other families before them whose lives were taken in similar acts of violence. We pray for strength and healing for all who have been traumatized in numerous ways by both individual and institutionalized brutality. We join you in calling for justice.
The IHM Leadership Council: Margaret Chapman, IHM, treasurer and mission councilor; Marianne Gaynor, IHM, vice president and mission councilor; Mary Jane Herb, IHM, president; Patricia McCluskey, IHM, mission councilor, and Ellen Rinke, IHM, mission councilor
In appreciation of Tom Hawley
The photo on the front page of The Monroe News today (Jan. 26, 2023) is another example of the extraordinary work of Mr. Tom Hawley. I so often appreciate his still life pictures, nature scenes, action photos and human-interest images.
I appreciate his camera's eye on Monroe.
Rita Fisher
Monroe
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Letters to the editor: Feb. 9, 2023
