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Sounds like slavery

The Spokesman-Review

I was shocked when I read H. Duane Brown’s letter to the editor (“Make holiday meaningful,” Jan. 25). Mr. Brown advocates having government and other employees be required to work on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and that their wages be donated to the United Negro College Fund. Put bluntly, this is forced labor at no pay forced upon a certain group of people. If this does not meet the definition of slavery, both morally and legally, I don’t know what does. The Rev. King would be appalled, I believe.

The Rev. King believed in equality and freedom for all people. He did not advocate special rights or special benefits for any groups. He simply wanted for all Americans to have the same chance to enjoy the rights guaranteed to us under the United States Constitution. A better way to celebrate this holiday might be to read some of the Rev. King’s writings and to read and study the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Joseph M. Polowski

Deer Park

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