Parent-teacher conferences are vital too

Parents should attend school board meetings, but they should also attend parent-teacher conferences (“Today’s parental homework: Attend school board meetings,” Nov. 13).

I would love to see the participation rates by county and by school for parent-teacher conferences — especially for kids with “C” or lower grades.

— Lyle Rescott, Marriottsville

Clarke a pioneer in integrating city political groups

I enjoyed the recent articles in The Baltimore Sun about Mary Pat Clarke’s accomplishments (“Dan Rodricks: Everyone called her Mary Pat, an energetic public servant and proud progressive Democrat,” Nov. 11).

I would like to add the history of her introduction to political activity. In the early 1970s, an all-white liberal group called the New Democratic Club joined with an all African American group called the Eastside Democratic Organization to run for 18 legislative seats in their mutual district. The leaders of the two groups running for the Senate were J. Joseph Clarke and Robert Douglass. The plan was that all mailings, door-knocking and people who had teas would promote both sides of the ticket and tell voters that it was important to vote for the entire group. This was the first integrated slate in the history of Baltimore.

Since Mary Pat was Joe’s wife, she joined the New Democratic Club and got involved with the campaign. This led to her future political campaigns. The entire slate was elected except for Joe Clarke, a tremendous victory for integration. It was so amazing that The New Republic magazine published an article about the victory entitled “New Wave Coming.”

— Pamela Seng, Baltimore

Why Harris lost — and what to do about it

When I opened X, I was greeted with post after post after post about Vice President Kamala Harris and her loss in the election. People were stirred in panic, fear and at a loss for words. Elsewhere, there were messages and missed phone calls from my friends saying that “We’re gonna die!” and “I’m moving to another country.” It felt all very dystopian. However, I am not completely surprised about the results. There are many factors that contributed to her loss (“Last Tuesday, a woman got rejected for a job promotion. What else is new?” Nov. 11).

Start with the fleeting time Harris was given to campaign. She had four months while former President Donald Trump had been campaigning for president since he left office. Add to this her not standing firm in her polices, her contribution to the genocide in Gaza, her saying she would have Republicans in her cabinet — the list continues. I was not surprised at the election results because we have already been witnessing the rise of conservatives in this country.

This means that Trump voters have slowly become a majority in this country whether we like it or not. The conversation needs to now be moved from grieving about the loss of Harris to deciding where to go from here. This must not be about fearing the future but about how can we put the future back into our hands.

— Chinarose Riley, Baltimore

Armstrong Williams badly in need of a reality check

Armstrong Williams was proudly wearing his MAGA hat when he wrote his column, “The second coming of Trump” (Nov. 10).

The part-owner of The Baltimore Sun wants to eliminate abortion rights and DEI and to bring back “stay at home mothers.” Does this mean that Donald Trump will provide financial aid to the millions of single mothers who must work to provide for their children without help from husbands or fathers to provide for them so they can “stay at home?”

Williams touts Trump as a possible Nobel Peace Prize winner after he ends the wars in Ukraine and Israel. These wars are to be ended on the first day of his second term in office. But will that be before or after the mass deportation begins with the government sparing no expense in the process? Trump will “defend and preserve the Constitution as he did for his first four years,” Williams writes. He is in need of a major reality check.

I assume Williams’ application for a position in the new administration was rejected, but not to worry: He will still be enjoying the benefits and perks of his status as a member of Trump’s ultra-rich Top 1% Club.

— Angie Taylor, Perry Hall