To the editor:

The image of the Rev. William Dulin ostracized with his brother to a bus so many years ago while their coaches and teammates ate in a restaurant broke my heart. The article told this community that one of its respected members endured heartache as a youth simply because he had dark skin.

My sadness quickly moved to disappointment. Where was the integrity and the courage of the coaches, the principal, the superintendent, the school board and fellow team members that they would allow two of their own to be shunned? The restaurants did not fail these boys; their school community did.

Even if these whites felt the system was too big to confront, the coaches and team could have stood in solidarity with the Dulins by packing their lunches and eating on the bus or collectively gathering picnic style in front of the segregating restaurants. School authorities could have insisted that not a dime be spent at segregating eateries.

Rev. Dulin’s story reminds us that fighting social injustice falls to each of us, and each of us is responsible for standing up for justice even in small ways like a sack lunch.