Black history, ideas to stop LIRR fare evaders
A Long Island Rail Road train at the Wyandanch LIRR station. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
Honor the past so everyone can rise
Think of the word history as a two-part description of what the Black person endured chronologically after being uprooted, stolen, and dispersed across lands far from home [“You can’t erase Black history,” Editorial, Feb. 12].
The rich and civilized culture he had was lost to him and so “his-story” started anew albeit painful and full of suffering. Despite this, the Black person throughout history prevailed. New cultures were created in the adopted lands, such as the Caribbean, the Americas, and Europe.
The recognition or revisiting of Black people’s struggles or survival and achievements occurring in the shortest month of the year is not coincidental but rather a compromise from the original “Negro History Week,” which did not do history justice either.
There were times in this country when Black people were not allowed to read the Bible for fear that they would learn to challenge bondage. Black history is full of stories such as these along with major accomplishments and contributions of Black people. It is a legacy of how a people overcame and prevailed despite small-mindedness and evil.
We need to highlight these events and resist attempts to dumb down a nation and deprive future generations of all races of Black people’s rich histories.
— Cordell Price, Eastport
3 ideas to stop LIRR bathroom riders
The story “LIRR bathrooms are the last refuge of fare evaders” [News, Feb. 16] said there is no easy solution to bathroom stowaways. Not true.
The most common system in many other states, where people pay their fares before they board, is the better solution. Maybe that’s why a system of paying fares before getting on a train has been adopted in many major cities in the United States and around the world.
— Edward Stroh, Rockville Centre
Print a bar code on rail tickets and make bathroom access contingent upon a successful scan of a valid ticket to unlock a bathroom door. Problem solved.
— Jeryl Griesing, East Northport
Maybe consider pay bathrooms.
— Robert Dickson, Huntington Station
WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO JOIN OUR DAILY CONVERSATION. Just go to newsday.com/submitaletter and follow the prompts. Or email your opinion to letters@newsday.com. Submissions should be no more than 200 words. Please provide your full name, hometown, phone number and any relevant expertise or affiliation. Include the headline and date of the article you are responding to. Letters become the property of Newsday and are edited for all media. Due to volume, readers are limited to one letter in print every 45 days. Published letters reflect the ratio received on each topic.
