To the editor:

In response to the letter from Grayson Goodness (The Herald, July 1): How ironic that you claim to have no idea what “white privilege” is and then go on to give an example that perfectly describes white privilege.

You see, as hard-working as your in-laws were, what makes their story a good example of white privilege is that they were able to live their life unmolested by other white people. No one was bombing their homes and churches just because they were white; no one was killing their livestock just because they were white; no one was waiting in the parking lot after Pete got off work to beat him up just because he was white.

I guarantee that while Pete and Bert’s jobs were difficult, any number of Black folks would’ve considered themselves very lucky to have a secure job that paid the bills. However, those jobs were hardly, if at all, given to Black folks.

You also mentioned a free society. Maybe you have forgotten that up until relatively recently, Black folks were not free in our so-called free society. And despite their low-class standing in our country, they still continued to do the things you tout as admirable in your in-laws’ case: they also went to church, served in wars, helped neighbors, raised families.

Black Lives Matter does not diminish the honorable life your in-laws led, it simply honors the lives of our fellow Black Americans, past and present. Black lives DO matter. And it is long overdue that we recognize that.

—Lacey Apple
Jasper