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Editor, Asbury Park Sun,

Often in church worship services, at the end of the service, the minister will say something like this: “The service is over, now the service begins.” It is her or his way of saying, now
that the worship service is over, the congregation is now expected to go forth and serve others. I cannot parallel that statement as I reflect on the fact that our Asbury Park election is over. We might say, “The Asbury Park election is over, now the listening, leading and governing begins.”

I had a smile on my face as some persons praised one political team for being inclusive and critiqued the other for not being inclusive. I wonder, what do those in our Asbury Park community who are Haitian or Latino think about the inclusivity of both of the teams that were running for election?

We, in our city and nation, are challenged to determine whether when we speak of inclusivity we mean the visibility of difference with some people “being seen but not heard, and present without influence and power.” Affirmations of diversity, while not encouraging, allowing some people to have influence and power, is comparable to what Duke Ellington said about Jazz: “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.”

Asbury Park — as does the nation — must consistently seek to include, involve and empower those who, because of their class [shaped by economics and education], race and gender have little or no influence in the re-shaping of the city or the nation. My hope is that from this moment on in Asbury Park, our boards, agencies, commissions, etc., will be inclusive of class, racial and gender differentials. And, that each and every day, all of us, elected officials and those of us who are not, will work to see that residents of each quadrant of our city — northwest, southeast, southwest, northeast — will have influence, power and parity in the creation of a “new” Asbury Park.

Michel Eric Dyson in his book “Race Rules: Navigating the Color Line,” writes something that transcends race: “The ostrich approach of burying our collective head in the sands of
historical amnesia or political denial will not work.” I am excited about what Asbury Park could be if WE got rid of our “historical amnesia” and “political amnesia.”

I wish some readers of the Asbury Park Sun, not me, would initiate a conversation in response to this letter, and invite me to attend. If the conversation promises to be civil, candid and
creative, as the song says, “I’ll Be There.”

— Rev. Gil Caldwell, Asbury Park

[This letter represents the opinion of its writer and is not representative of any opinion of the Asbury Park Sun staff. All readers are welcome to submit Letters to the Editor to news@asburyparksun.com for our consideration. For guidelines on letter-writing and submission, click here.]

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