Heroes and Role Models for African Americans

I must agree, to a degree, with Joyce Westbrooks (Letters, Jan. 8). My difference is that we (African Americans) not only need to be included in books on U.S. history but also world history.

As a child in third grade, I was told by one of my white teachers: “It is too bad that you don’t have any black heroes.” Fortunately for me, a black librarian gave me a book to read. It was about Hannibal. Although the book never called Hannibal black, it did describe his father. He was definitely black!

After that, there were other books about famous people: Alexandre Dumas, George Washington Carver, the Buffalo Soldiers, etc. I found a reason to be proud of who I was. This did not cause me to hate, only to try to make myself worthy of belonging to the same race.

CHARLES E. CAROTHERS SR.

Westminster