Although I was not present at the May 13 Sussex County Council meeting, I feel compelled to report that I was completely appalled by news reports regarding the comments made by Councilmen Sam Wilson and Vance Phillips in response to the grant request submitted by the Lower Sussex Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for its youth council.
It is almost unfathomable to me to learn of such profound ignorance on the part of two elected officials about the current role and groundbreaking historical significance that the NAACP has achieved since its founding in 1909. Moreover, to hear such publicly professed, unabashed bigotry, is mind boggling.
In truth, I am aware that there are individuals that hold views similar to those expressed by Mr. Wilson and Mr. Phillips, but in my experience such views are privately whispered in hidden back rooms. The one positive outcome I clearly envision from Mr. Wilson's and Mr. Phillips' undisputed statements is that voters are clear about the woeful characters of these men. It is in exercising our precious right at the ballot box that we can bring about a long overdue, decisive change in the character and quality of the individuals who speak for the people of Sussex County.
Rehoboth Beach
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