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Editor, the Asbury Park Sun,

Some of us remember the Broadway musical, “West Side Story.” It was inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The Jets and the Sharks were two teenage gangs on the West Side of New York City. Tony was the leader of the Jets, and Maria was the sister of the leader of the Sharks. They fell in love, and their love became the centerpiece of the story.

Grace and I have been in Asbury Park for almost 8 years. I have written elsewhere, suggesting that Asbury Park is a “A Tale of Two Cities,” one Boardwalk-centered, the other not. One economically strong and powerful, the other not. But, from almost the moment I arrived in Asbury Park, I concluded that Asbury Park would never become the city it could become if the people and the property and the power of the West Side were not seen as essential to the success of all of Asbury Park. Our East Side and the West Side, and the South side and the North Side, like Tony and Maria, must FALL IN LOVE!

I write this because I have in mind not just the residents of the West Side who are African Americans, I have in mind those who are Haitian Americans, Latino and Hispanic Americans, and white Americans who live on the West Side. And also those of us who live on other “sides” of Asbury Park. I believe these words of Marcus Garvey (1887-1940), the black nationalist leader, have relevance for all of Asbury Park, no matter who we are or where we live. Garvey was addressing the realities of persons of African descent. I share his words because they are important when any group of people, regardless of who they are, “feel they have no stake” in society.

“There is nothing more dangerous than to build a society with a large segment of people in that society who feel they have no stake in it, who feel they have nothing to lose. People who have a stake in their society protect that society, but when they don’t have it, they unconsciously want to destroy it.”

Asbury Park is in a time of renewal, a time when more than ever, all of Asbury Park, regardless of where we live, or who we are, we must take responsibility for improving it. And, make sure that ALL includes all of us, rather than just some of us.

—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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