To the editor:

The recent editorial on the Black Lives Matter sit-in at the Lawrence City Commission meeting (“Sit-In Spectacle,” Sept. 9) did an admirable job of identifying several obstacles to social justice locally. These include racial disparities in Douglas County incarceration rates, and a lack of representation in local governance and law enforcement. To this list we might add problems of equity and inclusion in the local schools, and unfair employment practices throughout the city.

However, the editorial erred spectacularly by condescending to protesters about “appropriate” ways to demonstrate grievances about issues (which the editorial acknowledges are real) and disingenuously accusing them of creating racial animosities. Why is it reasonable to expect peace and civility in the face of persistent inequalities?

Historically, minority populations have achieved necessary reforms only when their members have upset business as usual, freed themselves from the expectations of respectability, and otherwise stepped “out of their place.” If there’s any legitimate criticism to make of the sit-in, it is that participants demanded nondescript statements of support for Black Lives Matter and the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, rather than actual policies from officeholders to address the specific living conditions of people of color in this city.