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| Al Mayo (New London Patch) |
Al Mayo had been a regular listener to Glenn & Rebecca on WBMW and I had a chance to meet and talk with him just two or three years ago. He struck me as a nice guy and hardly a lightning rod for controversy. Mayo's reinstatement into the New London Fire Department complete with back pay and attorneys' fees signals some closure to a less than stellar chapter in the city's recent turbulent history. Mayo was the first African American hired by the department since 1978. Given the racial makeup of New London and the shaky ground on which the firing had been based, allegations of racial discrimination still seemed to come as a surprise to callers on this morning's Stu Bryer Show on WICH AM 1310. Even the show's host couldn't shake the feeling that the story "had something more to it." The callers I heard were indeed intelligent and thoughtful, but you could sense the real frustration that we were still discussing race after all the social changes some of these people had lived through since the fifties and sixties. Have we made strides in civil rights and race relations over the decades? Of course, as attitudes evolve with new generations. Despite the reforms and good intentions, we still have a considerable way to go and we have to be willing to acknowledge that. Being open about our problems is a major source of what has made America great. Nobody should feel uncomfortable about discussing this "work in progress" we all live in.
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