To the Editor:
Mr. Mark Lee seems to either forget or ignore the recent history and events preceding this lawsuit in making his assumption that race was not a factor in considering the choice of Kristy Lee to replace Susan Hutchison.
Going back just a couple of years before the suit was filed, minority groups were pushing for greater representation in the television media. One example of this is when Kweisi Mfume, the NAACP’s president, announced in July of 2000 that it would begin monitoring diversity in the television and film industries.
Given the activism at the time, why would Mark Lee think that the network did not take race into consideration and that they did not hire Ms. Lee based on race and age? I think it is absolutely for sure that they did do so.
Mark seems to be able to accept the argument that age might have been a factor, but for some reason cannot accept that race may also have been a factor. Were there groups exerting pressure to hire younger people? No. Were there groups applying pressure to hire minorities? Yes.
If Mark Lee wants to have any credibility for his opinions for or against a political candidate, he should carefully review and present his facts.
Given the facts and the times, it seems that Ms. Hutchison’s claims may have been quite valid. Racial discrimination is wrong, no matter which way it goes.
— William Turnbull, Kent