I applaud Wake school board’s choice on a book some parents called sexually explicit

Parents, schools

Regarding “Wake school board lets ‘Out of Darkness’ stay at Cary High,” (April 29):

I am so happy to see that the Wake County school board kept “Out of Darkness” in the Cary High School library. The news came the same day a national NPR/Ipsos poll reported that by a wide margin parents surveyed nationwide expressed satisfaction with what is being taught in their children’s schools. Those who have political agendas are making a lot of noise but they are in the minority by a large amount.

Michael Anthony, Cary

Abortion

Regarding Gene Nichol, “Women’s reproductive freedom is on the ballot in North Carolina,” (April 27 Opinion):

This is not a Republican versus Democrat issue. This is an issue about the unnecessary killing of innocent babies as a form of birth control. It is a woman’s body, but when a woman is pregnant there is a body inside of her that is not hers and that body has a right to live.

Marianne Allen, Youngsville

GOP hypocrisy

The news that a PAC that Sen. Thom Tillis is aligned with is running an ad saying that U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn “lies for the limelight” appears to be a case of pots and kettles.

While Cawthorn does appear to have lied about significant events in his adult life and proudly displays his ignorance as a badge of honor, it is amusing to see Republicans calling this out, given that the leader of their party has trafficked in lies from the time he threw his hat into the presidential ring.

Many of those who’ve come down with the vapors over Cawthorn have themselves trafficked in the “big lie” about the 2020 election and used it in an effort to deny other citizens their right to vote.

Given that we are currently being treated to the spectacle of the House minority leader being outed as a bald-faced liar, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s likely perjury over her Jan. 6 actions, and the constant cacophony of falsehoods blasted in Republican political ads, it is safe to say that there are fewer members of the GOP who have any regard for the truth.

James K. Butler, Raleigh

Raleigh voters

Fifty years ago when Raleigh’s first and only Black mayor, Clarence Lightner, created Citizen Advisory Councils he did so for a simple, powerful reason: to give all Raleigh residents a voice in city affairs. Until then, Raleigh’s growth had been decided by powerful brokers in backroom meetings, keeping citizens without money or influence in the dark, leaving them to bear the brunt of growth decisions.

Lightner’s vision of a better balance of democracy and capitalism endured in the form of city-supported CACs until the current City Council, without notice or public input, abolished support for them on Feb. 4, 2020.

It has been two years. Will the mayor and City Council that sacked CACs bring back authentic voices of community leaders elected by their own neighbors?

To restore Lightner’s vision, Raleigh voters must turn out to vote in record numbers to elect candidates who have the courage to revive Lightner’s essential balance by inviting residents’ voices into city affairs and controlling the powerful forces of capitalism.

Susan Maruyama

Chair, Livable Raleigh

Mixed legacies

Regarding “Meredith College had reason to remove James Joyner’s name. He was no ‘hero.’ (April 21 Opinion):

I am grateful to Meredith College professor Daniel Fountain for making me and others aware of the objectionable quotations from James Yadkin Joyner’s writings that were the basis for the college’s decision to remove his name from a campus building. I was unaware of these when I defended Joyner’s career in an April 12 op-ed.

I believe Joyner’s opinions were not malevolent, but reflected his logical assessment of the real world around him 120 years ago. However, I agree with Fountain that Joyner’s policy of lesser funding for Black schools established an unfortunate precedent that had damaging results for many years afterward.We must find a middle way to tell the complex history of former N.C. leaders like Joyner, acknowledging the good and bad without simply erasing every individual who ever expressed an idea society does not now favor. Although we may deplore some of their actions, removing their names and pretending they didn’t exist is in itself a distortion of the historical record.

E. T. Malone Jr., Warrenton

Leftover mayo?

The April 27 Food & Dining section shared a Washington Post article titled “5 ways to cook and bake with mayo.” The writer believed her advice was helpful because “it’s easy to buy a jar for one particular recipe or use and then have a lot of it left over, destined to languish in the refrigerator.”

I can’t speak for the fine folks in our nation’s capital, but in North Carolina languishing mayonnaise is not a problem. At my house, it’s one of the four major food groups. We buy Duke’s by the gallon and running out invokes a state of emergency.

If anything, the tips for how to “help make a dent in your mayo supply” should have been incorporated into Brooke Cain’s “Guide for living life in the Triangle” in the same edition. Maybe some newcomers from distant parts could use a side of mayo appreciation along with their barbecue advice. Bless their hearts.

Robin Morris, Cary

This story was originally published April 29, 2022 at 12:47 PM with the headline "I applaud Wake school board’s choice on a book some parents called sexually explicit."