(NAME-MCE) Letter to Springfield Beacon Editor: Springfield Students Have Spoken 1/26/08

[Anselmo Villanueva]

Elaine Hayes coordinated the Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration --
now in it's 11th year -- in Springfield, Oregon.  There were essay contests,
art work, performances -- all student driven.

Below is a letter to the editor she wrote to the local newspaper.

Anselmo

--------- Forwarded message ----------
From:  <Elaine4SJ at cs.com>
Date: Jan 26, 2008 11:44 PM
Subject: Letter to Springfield Beacon Editor: Springfield Students Have
Spoken  1/26/08

Springfield Students Have Spoken!  Are we listening?

During Springfield's Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, students, once
again, opened our eyes to the kind of world they want to live in and to the
deficits that still surround (bankrupt) us today.

In honor of Dr. King, students submitted essays, poems, artwork and
speeches.  Some expressed their desire for that 'Beloved Community' which
Dr. King so passionately spoke of. He gave us a joyful and elevated image to
reach for.  Some students shared their pain of being set apart by poverty or
by racism.  Some experienced the power of speaking out for themselves, for
others and
for the environment.

A few challenged readers by including the questions: "Where are the voices?"
"Who will speak out?"

After reading several essays and poems, I realized that some of the students
wrote with the hope that 'someone' would hear their pleas and 'fix' things.
Others wrote with more urgency for the suffering to stop.

How will our community respond to their concerns and experiences of
discrimination, inequality, hunger, poverty, and their desire for a healthy
environment and for peace not war?

Can we shed our party loyalties, corporate loyalties and whatever else
separates us and work together to finally make Dr. King's Dream a reality?
Let's unite as Springfielders, join with others who are already working on
some of these issues and be prepared to help many more students and families
as the economy continues its downtrend.

Please do not remain in denial or require more study, more proof, and more
pain - or wait for certain winds to change - before helping to set the
course that will alleviate poverty and lead to the equality and peace which
Dr. king sought 40 years ago and which our children are still seeking now.

Respectfully submitted,
Elaine Hayes
Springfield, OR