Letter To The Editor: Local Letter Challenges County Board's Tribute to Charlie Kirk

Letter To The Editor:

As a resident of Madison County, I disagreed with the recent decision by the Madison County Board to declare a "Day of Remembrance" for Charlie Kirk. I understand that the party in power has the votes to pass any resolution they chose.

I also know that the current administration has been open to dialogue about diversity, and I commend them for that. The problems is that Charlie routinely framed diversity initiatives as threats to his way of life and dismissed systemic racism myths. His statement about black pilots being qualified are insulting to say the least. I strongly encourage everyone to research the Tuskegee Airmen if they are at least a bit curious about the history of black pilots in America.

I admit I must make a concerted effort to become better informed because I didn't know Charlie existed until he was assassinated. Because of the publicity surrounding his death, I decided to learn more about him. Since then, I've watched several of his interviews. Because of his great job mobilizing young Republicans, I can see why many loved him. But for me, a pattern because clear very quickly. Most of his conversations with blacks or discussions about blacks led me to believe that he built his career by deliberately polarizing the public, often punching down on vulnerable communities in the name of free speech.

I've listened to him tell blacks that Justice Clarence Thomas should be our role model as opposed to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and argue that Dr. King should not have a holiday because the Rev. Billy Graham played more of a role in getting the Civil Rights Act passed than Dr. King. The problem with this argument is that President Reagan (an iconic conservative), with the support of a Republican majority in the Senate, enacted Dr. King's holiday in 1983.

To disregard the fact that Dr. King is an American hero by most standards, and it still took 15-plus years after he died for the decision to be made to recognize his contributions to American history. Charlie's attitude towards Dr. King and attempts to tarnish Dr. King's image in the name of free speech made me think he was more about division than unity.

I'd like to commend the six County Board members who voted against the resolution. I also understand that some politicians supported the resolution because of the way it was worded in Congress.

The resolution said, "Condemns the assassination of Charles 'Charlie' Kirk and all forms of political violence." Had the resolution stopped there, I would have supported it. But it continued: "And honors the life, leadership and legacy of Charlie Kirk." I personally have a problem voting for that.

Andy Hightower

Alton

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