TO THE EDITOR:
I want to thank Lily, Erin, Satish and Deb sincerely for contributing their thoughts in Tuesday's columns about Race Relations week.
I especially found Deb's piece to be quite thought-provoking and agreed with a number of her points, on which I would have enjoyed even more elaboration.
I agree that the United States was not unique in being a nation that practiced slavery. But I believe that the horrendous and immoral nature of the Transatlantic slave trade as practiced here in the United States is different from the nature of slavery practiced in other civilizations.
I also agree with Deb's observation that it was our parents who grew up during the civil rights struggle - but just as Deb pointed out, history's ills haven't been cured, and we thus are growing up in the civil rights struggle. Today there are many places, such as my hometown of Prince George's County, where if you want to know what it's like to attend a segregated school, you could just ask one of the students.
Finally, I agree with Deb's statement that the greatest threats to good race relations at UNC are institutional. I'm unsure about Deb's self-doubting "excellent scholars" - supposedly created by racial preferences in the admissions process. I wonder if these are the same "excellent scholars" who are bound to have their doubts eased by way of UNC's legacy preference in the admissions process?
Tinu AkintolaProfessional Student
