...and more Miserable Fobes article

First off thank you for the kind words about my letter.  I am glad everyone enjoys the first posting.  I think my biggest issue is that when someone wants to take a jab at Cleveland the first thing they do is go back 40 years ago on the Cuyahoga River fire.  This was horrible, yes we caught a river on fire, but let's look at America in the late 60's.  How about we go back a year to 1968 when Cleveland elected the first African American Mayor Carl Stokes?  

So let's forget about the good that happened and started a year earlier paving the way for future African American leaders and an ease of racial tensions.  In 1969 the south needed the court of law to desegregate Mississippi schools in the landmark case Alexander v Homles County Board of Education.  Congress in 1968 had to vote and pass a civil rights bill prohibiting housing discrimination for minorities.  In 1967 Loving v Virginia the United States Supreme court ruled in favor of a mixed race couple whose marriage had been judged illegal by Virginia law. 

Race riots in the 60's were front page headlines in major cities across the United States.  23 People are killed in Newark New Jersey, 43 more in Detroit.  After the assassination of Dr. King in 1968 rioting in Washington, Chicago, Baltimore, Kansas City, and multiple other cities claim the lives of dozens more.  You want to get started on the lynchings, the segregated drinking fountains, lunch counters and public transportation of the deep and not so deep south?  We can go back to just last year in back woods Louisiana and the Justice of the Peace that refused to grant a mixed race couple a marriage license due to personal racist beliefs.  

Our river caught fire June 22, 1969 Mr. Forbes.  Yes, that is a funny little fact to put in your article.  Haha, snicker, snicker ...mistake on the lake.  Is that all you got though?  You want to talk about black eyes?  Let's talk about some real shit.  Let's really sling the mud around and talk about how progressive Cleveland was as a city while our river was burning.  Let's talk about the real deal and how we accepted change while others were still stuck on the Jim Crow laws of the late 1800's in 1960's America.  Cleveland was making leaps and bounds for equality while our river was burning.  What the fuck was everyone else doing?  If it wasn't for the mistake on the lake and our tolerance of other people, cultures, creeds and colors we might not even have a African American as President today.  You cant change history, our river did catch on fire.  Let's forget the positives because Johnny Carson used the burning river bit in his monologue back in 1970.  Apparently that is still funny in your world.  It just isn't in mine.