Net reel honors Black history, contributions

The Cape Gazette |LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Sara Ford
January 28, 2022

As we move into Black History Month, we have the opportunity not only to learn about and to honor the stories, the lives, the accomplishments, the discoveries, the grit and strength of Black people, but also the responsibility to ask why should Black History be relegated to only a month, when, in fact, Black history is American history, as central to the story of our nation as is white history?

In the February edition of Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice’s “Black Voices,” Hanifah Ouro-Sama speaks most eloquently to this point. She writes: “I was expected to learn about George Washington during history class; expected to interpret the works of Edgar Allen Poe during English class; and expected to study the findings of IsaacNewton during science class. The same attention, however, was never given to Black political scholars like W.E.B. Du Bois, Black authors like Alice Walker, or Black scientists like George Washington Carver. It seemed as though our curriculum set aside teaching the contributions about Black people until February rolled around.”

Read the entire Letter to the Editor here.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
A tribute to Aimee Wiest
Mary Boyd
The Cape Gazette |January 18, 2022

The tributes will surely pour in for Aimee Wiest, and many will emphasize certain causes for which she was associated. The aspect of her character and personality most important, however, was her tolerance.

Aimee was not a virtue signaler. She did not object if others were, but she herself did not feel the necessity of requiring certain political views of others either by her demeanor, her body language or her comments.

Always open to learning, she saw merit in expanding her horizons rather than solidifying fixed positions. She did not look to be validated; she looked to learn new ways of looking at “old” issues. These are the characteristics of an excellent teacher.

An excellent teacher does not steer students to a particular point of view; an excellent teacher introduces students to the full range of experience and position, and assists them in how to question it. This skill of critical thinking becomes a lifelong habit and is the gift given to students by those who understand what teaching really is.

Aimee Wiest gave this to all she taught and, in addition, exemplified the noblest attributes to all she knew personally.

Mary Boyd
Lewes

The Cape Gazette | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Thomas M. Connelly
September 10, 2021

Last Sunday during a busy Labor Day weekend, a diverse crowd of 235 Lewes community members turned out for a rally to implore the Mayor and City Council to keep the menhaden fish net reel on the grounds of the Lewes Historical Society. A local rally of this size, over a holiday weekend no less, clearly demonstrates that the Lewes community values this significant historical structure and wants it to remain in place.

Speakers at Sunday’s rally shared how the menhaden fishing industry was a pivotal turning point for local African Americans in the midst of Jim Crow. These laborers’ essential contributions helped determine the success of the critical menhaden fishing industry for our community. The Rev. George H. Edwards Sr. spoke of the migration of the workers and their families from Virginia to Lewes. Robert Kennedy, a former employee of the fish factory, said there was equal pay, which created an opportunity to buy homes in our town and led to unique racial integration during the Jim Crow era. Tim Timmons, whose parents worked at the fish factory, pointed out the house that his parents (his mother still lives there) were able to purchase due to that employment. Alicia Jones gave a historical account of the African Americans who lived and worked in Lewes, and Esthelda Parker Selby shared the personal experiences of her mother and other factory employees. Trina Brown-Hicks played a live recording of songs sung by her father and others as they worked on “The Reel.”

Read the entire Letter to the Editor here..