This is in response to stories Dec. 11 and 12 about posters being displayed at Lewiston High School.
Being a black individual, I find the slogan “#BlackLivesMatter” to be offensive. “#PeopleLivesMatter” would have been a more appropriate slogan, not only for the school, but for the community.
Lewiston is a city with many different cultural backgrounds. It is a diverse community. Lewiston High School is my alma mater, so I am familiar with the diversity of the school — from race to sexual orientation to disability to social class.
The slogan is offensive because there are also Hispanic students, homosexual students, white students, students who have a disability (mental/physical) and students who live a life of poverty, and the poster does not address them. It seems that their lives don’t matter as much as black people.
I assume that poster was made with good intentions and was meant to be part of the Eric Garner or Mike Brown movement. But every day there are other individuals who are not black who are victims of a tragedy of some sort. Black people have always been targeted as victims. If we stop victimizing ourselves, we will see change.
The school did make an appropriate decision and I respect Principal Linda MacKenzie’s reasoning. Students need to be taught to learn more about current events, besides mainstream media.
If we stop all racism, all discrimination, that is when change will happen.
Said Said Ahmed, Henniker, N.H.
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