"We have a chokehold on your dream?" mocked a May 1 political cartoon in The Day.

The chokehold is empty promises of politicians and news media hype promoting ideas that law enforcement, educators and big business are holding African-American citizens from achieving prosperity. The Rule of Law requires alleged police misconduct to be investigated with the same protections given to any citizen charged with a crime. The day after your egregious political cartoon a NYPD officer was shot in the head by an African-American for no reason! There was no burning, looting, protesting, or criminal activity because of it.

You can't give jobs to a person without work ethics. You cannot educate a person who is not willing to stay in school. You cannot warehouse children in school systems like New York City until they age out and dump them into society. We need elected leaders who do more than pander for votes. We need a Marshall Plan to break this cycle of poverty, leadership that invests in the importance of family.

Parental stability is the anchor; law enforcement can be a partner, but not the last check valve in the safety net. Baltimore, Md. is a city with African-American leadership. The ball is in their corner!

James L. Miller

Salem