by Mary McQueen
Texarkana Gazette
September 1, 2016
To the editor:
White people can skip reading this letter. This isn’t for you. On Saturday morning, August 27, 2016, some African American motorcyclists roared up to and parked at Washington School. They played loud music that could be heard inside nearby houses. I don’t know why they were there, but I hear it was a backpack giveaway.
The neighborhood where this school is located is mostly poor and black. There are old people in this neighborhood. I know of at least one very elderly woman that you frightened with your noise and engine revving. Along with the noise, I saw you greatly exceed the speed limit as you left.
Your motorcycles have been illegally modified to create that amount of noise. You set a bad example for any children who might have been around with your lawlessness and lack of consideration. So we have to deal with racism not only from whites, but blacks as well.
Most of you don’t live in this neighborhood. I am 100 percent certain you would not go through a rich white neighborhood in this fashion. Some of the people you showed such disregard for paid their dues long before you were born. They’ve earned the right to live in peace. Think about that before you engage in such foolishness again.
I have the same level of contempt for people who own property in this neighborhood, don’t live here, and don’t maintain their properties. Also the vandals and people who throw trash in yards and on the street. Add to that the people who park at the convenience store and clubs on 9th Street and drive down the streets playing loud music that can be heard for several blocks.
Mary McQueen
Texarkana, Arkansas
Noise Free America: A Coalition to Promote Quiet
PO Box 2754
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27515
http://noisefree.org/donate