To the editor:

Francine Newman, Saranac Lake High School’s valedictorian, is to be congratulated at her bravery in facing head-on the racism she experienced in growing up here. By openly sharing her feelings, demonstrating the corrosive effects she and her sibling endured, hopefully will help to eradicate this evil.

Casual hurtful expressions of hate, made by her classmates, cannot be excused as the cruelty of children. Kids get the message that this behavior is acceptable from adults, including teachers and those in a parental role. We all as adults have a duty to impress youngsters that this behavior is wrong and unacceptable. They will get the message.

Ironically, in today’s (June 29) issue of the Enterprise, another example of expressions of racial slurs in the form of new graffiti on public property is reported. This shows we all have a lot of work ahead of us in correcting injustice.

Lewis Rosenberg

Paul Smiths