Letter: Education overcomes prejudice

In his column published in the Aug. 21 Tribune, Leonard Pitts stressed education as the chief combatant in our battle against prejudice. I am a firm believer in this approach.

In the early '80s, when my two children started school, I moved them from an all-white neighborhood to attend Washington Elementary on Salt Lake's west side. They both began kindergarten with a teacher from South America and began to learn Spanish as a second language at that early age. They played with kids of all nationalities and later when we moved to the upper east side they continued their education graduating from West High School.

Both my children and grandchildren understand color. I have an African American/Hispanic grandson and two Hispanic/Caucasian granddaughters, but the difference in color in our home has never been an issue because of this early opportunity to learn about and understand diversity. Education is the key to lasting relationships based on acceptance and the knowledge that we are all equal and worthy of respect and love.

The color makeup in Utah is changing, slowly, but it is changing. Embrace it, your life will be enriched by this opportunity.

Francie Barber

Midvale