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Anyone will agree, 2020 has not been the banner year we want to remember. Starting off with the COVID-19 Crisis, deadly hornets, and now riots.

We cannot control nature, although some of us like to try, but we can control our reactions.

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of riot is

1a: a violent public disorder specifically : a tumultuous disturbance of the public peace by three or more persons assembled together and acting with a common intent

b: public violence, tumult, or disorder

Many have stated they do not want to see such actions here in Orange. It us up to us, the citizens, to ensure it does not.

To bring attention to the need for change does not have to be done in a violent manner.

What happened to George Floyd is horrific. I, like many others, watched the video of his demise. I was horrified and appalled to see another human being treated as such by another human being.

This is not just about color of skin or the position of authority. This is about how we treat each other on a daily basis.

Tearing apart a community or destroying local businesses will not change what happened on May 25.

As Mayor Larry Spears Jr. said in his letter published on the front page of this edition, we must refuse to allow hatred to infiltrate the blessings that we have come to experience here in Orange.

Despite others attempting to ‘stir the pot’, we must stand against such hatred and lead by example.

Plan to attend the Town Hall the city of Orange is working on hosting. Bring solutions to the table and help the community move forward.

If you have an idea you wish to voice before then, submit a column to news@orangeleader.com for consideration.

Remember it is not our place to judge others. We are to love our neighbors, even though we do not like all their ways.

Martin Luther King Jr. said, “I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of “interposition” and “nullification” — one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”

I too have a dream that one day, King’s dream will happen not just in Alabama but across the nation, world. Where we can live in a world where the color of one’s skin is not brought into the conversation and considered an unnecessary adjective.

 

Dawn Burleigh is general manager and editor of The Orange Leader. She can be reached at dawn.burleigh@orangeleader.com