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LETTERS TO THE EDITORI WAS saddened to hear of the passing of the Rev. Orrin Anderson. According to my parents and other close friends, he was a wonderful man I had the occasion to meet him once, at my father’s funeral He spoke eloquently of my father, and when I was introduced to him, he had the presence of a warm, friendly individual There was one thing, though, that stood out about him: He was not judgmental.There are some people who exist to spread the word of God, to instruct and comfort others with his message. This was the Rev. Anderson Then there are others who exist to spread their word of God in order to elevate themselves above others as authorities. Their only purpose is to tear dow n and destroy everyone who does not think as they do, using half-baked and false logic in order to hold their heads higher than others.We could all learn from the Rev Anderson’s life the true meaning of being a Christian. I'm sure right now he’s probably having conversations with Pope John Paul 11.DAVID DONOFRIO AltonOVER THE years I have ignored Abe Lee Barham letters However, his letter to the editor on April 1 about me giving Superintendent Jim Baiter a NAACP Leadership Award in 2003 has gone too far. We all make mistakes in life and move on.Here we are in the middle of a crisis where the school district has failed to hire qualified African-Americans or promote them to administrative positions in the district, and, as usual, Barham attacks me and the NAACP for pointing this out to Baiter and the school board This shows us where he stands on this issue We know where the NAACP stands Don’t point fingers, join and support us.Abe Barham has constantly attacked the minority leadership in our community. Abe Barham is not a member of any of the known organizations in this townWhat Barham doesn’t understand is that leaders are chosen by their peers to lead them. Each leader of the organization in Alton has been chosen by their peers to lead themAbe Barham, I have been in a leadership position for over 40 years, starting as president of an Amoco Oil Refinery union, the first African-American in the history of Amoco. I was the first African-American vice president of the oil company's six Midwestern states unions, and I wasn’t chosen in any of these positions by African-American people. I was also a paid registered lobbyist in Springfield for six years. I have served on many boards, e.g. United Way, 100 Black Men, Urban League, Alton Housing Authority, Madison County Housing Board, etc.What have you been chosen for? What have you been able to accomplish in Alton?I didn’t wake up in the middle of the night and say I had a dream, and in that dream I became a leader. I was chosen by my peers to be a leader. Leaders do not attack people who are in the trenches working on behalf of the community.JAMES GRAY Alton
Newspaper Details
Alton Telegraph
Alton, Illinois, US
Wed, Apr 06, 2005
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Hayner P.
IL, USA 29 Jan 2024
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