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BLM movement mischaracterized

EDITOR:

This is in response to the Letter to the Editor on July 8 from Ms. Trask. Ms. Trask admonished the Iron Mountain City Council on the resolution they passed affirming the Black Lives Matter movement. Ms. Trask stated that BLM’s “agenda is dangerous and includes leaders who threaten the country if they don’t get what they want.” I found this odd so I went to the source. I tend to do that when I question something that doesn’t seem quite right.

After reading the Black Life Matters mission statement on their official website, it stated a much different cause than the one Ms. Trask portrayed. I urge all readers to take a minute and go to their web site and read what they are all about. Equality, family, social justice, judicial justice are just a few of the principles they believe in. I learned that they are very supportive of the LGBTQ community and are specifically concerned about the high murder rate of trans Black women. In 2019, 20 out of the 27 murdered trans people or non-gender conforming people were Black women. This continuous tragedy is unacceptable.

There was no mention of repatriation, defunding police or any other horrible plight on our society Ms. Trask spoke of. I’m not saying there aren’t Black people out there that want to do harm to random white people, murder cops or even defund the police. We now see daily white people wanting to lynch random Black men for being on a hike on public land or calling 911 on a Black man sitting in his car in his driveway. There is plenty of hate and fear to go around.

I commend the City Council for taking a stand and declaring that here in our community all are welcome. I do agree with Ms. Trask in the fact that we are all of one race — the human race — with various amounts of melanin in our skin. However, one aspect of our human race is in dire straits right now and needs our attention. After 400 years, we as a country need to be focused on them. Once we can rid our nation of systemic racism, then we can proudly say All Lives Matter and really mean it.

Lynne Wilson

Iron Mountain

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