Dear Dale, Today as we observe the anniversary of 9/11, I am also thinking of the devastation that Hurricanes Katrina, and now Harvey and Irma have wrought. You and I speak frequently of how we seek to allow my Civil Rights Movement activism to become a baton that I pass onto to you and all of the generations that have followed my generation. Theologians and faith based persons of all religions wrestle with the question of why these man made and "natural" disasters? Theology wrestles with what is called theodicy the question of God, and the destruction and evil that exists in the world. I, and I believe you, are more interested in how humanity responds to destruction, tragedy, human suffering and injustice, rather than engaging in abstract analysis of the why. Martin Luther King reminded us of "The paralysis of analysis." Dale, because of who you are, and the person you are becoming, you have equipped yourself with degrees from Princeton, Wharton, and Seton H
My wife Grace and I visited the College Achieve Greater Asbury Park Charter School on the Thursday after the Labor Day "Stand Against Hate Rally." We sought to see the School with our eyes, hearts, minds and through our personal histories of attending segregated black Public Schools in the south. We believe that if the Asbury Park Zoning Board, the City Council, the Board of Education, and most of those who planned and attended the "Stand Against Hate Rally", visited the School, there would be no question about the School's need to have access to an additional location. It is strange that concerns about parking etc., seem to be more important than the space needs of children and their teachers. We saw at College Achieve Charter School, beautiful black children, dedicated teachers and administrators, and a facility not large enough to meet the needs of the students. This is what Grace and I saw in our southern Schools when we attended them. I often paraphrase t