Letters et cetera

A career path can take an unexpected turn

Just wanted to let A&S know — and especially Kristine Conner — that I found Ms. Conner’s recent article delightful and heartwarming. Though not an English major, I probably experienced a similar metamorphosis as my law and business career evolved earlier in my life. Thanks for sharing her experience.

Bob Moir (Foreign Affairs ’64)
Dunn Loring, Va.

Sustained Dialogue, continued

I read Christian “Jake” Steinmetz and David T. Bostick’s dialogue in the last issue. I commend both gentlemen on their views and on their willingness to speak out or write about it. No matter what our differences, I think that the biggest step that anyone could take on race relations is taking a stand. I was compelled to respond simply because as a poetry writer and author, I recently had a white Canadian friend tell me that I was being racist in one of my poems. My response was, “You will never understand what it means to be black in America.” Steinmetz heard Bostick say this at U.Va. years ago, and it obviously stuck with him, and all of these years later the statement is still true.

I agree with Steinmetz; we do need to embrace Dr. King’s legacy and move on in spite of differences, but I also feel in my heart that the differences must be acknowledged. You don’t marry someone without taking into consideration their previous hurts and pains, and so it is with most African-Americans. To be honest, so it is with all Americans. We all have a past. We’re from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, but we have a history that walks into every door of friendship with us, and I think that history helps to determine whether we can be understood or whether someone has what it takes to be involved in a relationship. It’s certainly worth knowing where someone has come from, and although we’ve come so far, it hasn’t all been by faith. A lot of it has been by “standing” on faith.

It’s been 10 years since I’ve walked the Grounds of U.Va., and although there were several instances of racial discrimination when I was there, I am still so very proud to be an alumnus. It’s one of the greatest universities in the world. The academic programs are great, and when we graduate, we are prepared for the best and for just about any test. However, it’s the little things like “Sustained Dialogue” that make U.Va. special. I came from a small town in Virginia, but today I look back on four years at a diverse university where I learned to really see people for who they are and from whence they’ve come. My friend in Canada asked me, “Why can’t you all just be called Americans?” I told him that we should, but America has not come full circle yet. Many people are still being denied jobs, houses and other things in this country because they’re black. When it ceases, I’ll cease to write poetry that points to that experience. It’s not about pointing out differences, really. It’s about pointing out things that are still wrong. I haven’t experienced many of these, but I talk to people every day who do. When we can reverse this curse, that’s when we will have arrived as Americans, all of us. We’ll all be free. We’ll all be equal. We’ll all be Americans.

Latorial Faison (English ’95)
Fort Sheridan, Ill.

Follow-up

Edward P. Jones (MA, Creative Writing) has won yet another award for “The Known World.” The $120,000 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award joins the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle prize and a MacArthur fellowship on the list of honors Jones has received.