Girls for All SeasonsSir: There are no words to describe the immense pleasure and happiness
your cover story on Lynn and Vanessa Redgrave [March 17] gave me.
Having seen Georgy Girl three times and Morgan! once, I can understand
why the world is in love with these two fantastic artists.SUZANNE R. FRIED Queens, N.Y.Sir: Pity the British theater, and TIME for resorting to the Redgrave
menage for a cover story. The paucity of theatrical talent is aptly
illustrated in the Lynn-Vanessa Redgrave act: typical Lynn, who looks
like a young Angela Lansbury, and Vanessa, who could be—well, almost
anyone. Nothing outstanding about either.Comparing the second-rate Redgraves with the American Barrymores leaves
a poor taste in my theatrical mouth. Might as well eulogize the Cherry
Sisters, who certainly epitomized a theatrical era.MARY B. LEIGH-HUNT HollywoodSir: About the new crop of stars: I feel that the really wildly exciting
thing about them is their distinctiveness as individuals and their
ability to inspire creative thinking in the new movie audience. The
emphasis has switched from the image to the real individual.CARLI CREMEANS Wooster, OhioMatter of Morals or Fitness?Sir: Adam Powell's power [March 17] has long constituted a threat to the
white-power structures, and numerous attempts have been made to strip
him of his power. What we have just witnessed is not a morals trial but
the employment of an excuse to accomplish legally and openly what we
have failed to do until now.No longer can we clothe our prejudice in the worn-out argument that “the
Irish, Italians, Poles and the Jews have made it; so can the Negro,”
for we have just proved that, although other minority groups can “make
it” by aggressiveness and the acquisition of power, we will never
permit the Negro to follow suit.I cannot justify Powell's personal conduct, but I see our bigoted
treatment of him, the symbol of black power, as a grave moral sickness. G. STANFORD BRATTON Assistant MinisterThe First Baptist Church in America ProvidenceSir: I am a Negro reared in the South and educated at two of America's
preeminent universities. I have known discrimination in employment,
cultural opportunities, day-to-day existence, and in the military.Some responsible Negroes have bridled their tongues out of fear of
reprisals and epithets and have thereby given the impression of solid
Negro support for Powell and his antics. The fact is that many
responsible Negroes do not wish preferential treatment for Negro
violators of the law. No thinking Negro can deny that Powell is guilty
of grave violations of the law, and has flagrantly abrogated his right
to sit in Congress. For too long, many American whites, out of a
feeling of guilt for the sins of their fathers or out of indifference
to the Negro as a meaningful member of society, have looked the other
way when Negroes have committed wrongs. Concomitantly, many responsible
Negroes have taken advantage of such attitudes and wallowed in the mire
of second-class citizenship because of the special privileges it
afforded. Informed Negroes know this very well.
