Raza, La O at Meeting

To the Editors of The Crimson:

On may 1, a Crimson story described the recent meeting which I organized between students and Harvard University Police Chief Paul Johnson in response to widespread concerns about the relationship between the Harvard University Police and the student community of color. The article reported that the meeting was held between the HUDP and the Black Student Association.

Given that other peoples of color in addition to African-Americans also suffer from racism and have also demonstrated initiative addressing the problem, I regret that The Crimson neglected to acknowledge the contributions of members of Raza and La O to the HUDP meeting.

As I stated in a telephone interview with a Crimson reporter, the meeting was held between Chief Johnson and members of several student organizations, and the fruits of the meeting represent the creativity and thoughtful efforts of all persons present.

I feel it is a important to correct this mistaken coverage in order to acknowledge the efforts of the individuals who worked hard in this particular situation. It is also important to recognize that this is a typical media approach to race relations issues--one that reduces racial conflict to issues between Blacks and whites.

It is essential both that the media not unfairly portray different communities of color as pitted against on another and that it equally acknowledges all communities of color for their stakes and investments in addressing societal and personal racism. Hilda Hernandez-Gravelle   Assistant Dean for Race Relations and Minority Affairs