Letter: Parks’ comments echo ugly part of Kennewick’s history

I grew up in Kennewick. I graduated from KHS in 1968. I remember when Kennewick was called “The Birmingham of the North” because of the whites-only policy. For this reason Councilman Bob Parks’ comments are not good for Kennewick.

Things have changed for the better since 1968, but people have very long memories. His statement, whether intended to be a joke or not, demonstrates that possibly Kennewick hasn’t changed all that much.

As an elected official, the expectation is that he will always do what’s best for Kennewick because he is perceived to be one of the voices of the city. Yes, he has the right to say what he wants as an American, but as an elected official the expectation is that he will use good sense in all his comments.

I have lived in Pasco for the past 10 years. I’ve sold my home and will be moving back to Kennewick within 30 days. As a soon-to-be resident, I hope Councilman Parks hasn’t taken us back to the history of Kennewick that we would all hate to have dredged up. That could hurt Kennewick in more ways that we can even imagine.

This story was originally published April 7, 2016 at 6:45 PM with the headline "Letter: Parks’ comments echo ugly part of Kennewick’s history."