To the editor:

It is ironic that the Journal-World would fail to support the Langston Hughes Center for Community Enrichment. Like Andrew Carnegie, newspapers have a vested interest in promoting literacy and lifelong learning! The kind of “literacy” envisioned by the 29 organizations represented in the Langston Hughes group includes enriching our community’s sense of its diverse history through murals, film and other art forms, drama, writing, spoken word and other modes of creative expression.

The costs of illiteracy in terms of poverty and crime are enormous. By creating a center where young and old from all segments of our community can explore the wonders of “literacy” in all its manifestations, we make Lawrence a safer, better, richer place to live and work.

The City Commission reviewed nine proposals for the former Carnegie Library. By an objective point system the Hughes Center ranked far above competitors. At the city’s request we explored the possibility of incorporating the “Arts Commons” concept under our broad umbrella. Visual arts literacy was already a crucial component. The Hughes group was hesitant to attempt to house two very different proposals in this limited facility.

What we propose is a space where adults and children, regardless of race or circumstance, can find common ground in the cause of giving Lawrence a deeper understanding of our past, a richer present and a brighter future.

Barbara Watkins,

Lawrence