This letter was printed in the newspaper. The brackets denote those words/sentences that were edited out by the editorial staff.

June 30, 1999

Richmond Times-Dispatch
P.O. Box 85333
Richmond, VA 23293
Attn: Editor of Editorial Page

Dear Sir,

{I trust you are well. I write once again to vent my spleen and thus hope to avoid the ulcer which must ultimately follow the frustration and anger that the current Mural Flap has created in me.}

{I refer specifically to the article in today’s edition of the Times-Dispatch} In NAACP: "Keep Portrait Down" (June 30) {1999 - NAACP: Keep portrait down) in which a} Mr. King Salim Khalfani of the NAACP expresses his concerns. He states, The Civil War is over. It was lost. The Confederates were found to be traitors to the U.S.. I would like to point out a simple fact of history which Mr. Khalfani and his confederates seem to have overlooked, Slavery is abolished, {Sir!} {You} They are free! I would recommend that your time, and that of {your organization} the NAACP would be better served by exercising that freedom to find solutions to the problem of black on black crime in our cities. Instead,{you and yours} et al. seem determined to find a place for yourselves as professional victims.

How sad that the long trek to freedom for this country’s black citizens has led them from one slave master to another. Many of those who profess to be black leaders now serve the master of hatred and divisiveness. Those who would convince them that every failing on their part is the result of some white conspiracy. {I would make Mr. Khalfani aware that as a white citizen of the area I found the mural of Gabriel Prosser ( a black man who planned the murders of hundreds of white people) offensive, but I did not threaten to jam if it remained on the wall.}

{I was willing to accept that part of our history just as I expect others to accept that part of our history that I would like to see honored. Why are those in positions of authority so quick to acquiesce to one group of citizens at the expense of another?}

{Just thought I’d make one more attempt to inject some reason and sanity into the proceedings. There now, I feel a little better.}

Sincerely,