Dear Editor:
As a person of faith, I have been taught to reconcile with anyone that I have or may have offended. For the last few weeks I have been involved in a controversy regarding comments I made a public meeting. After carefully considering those comments and having discussed them with various people that I hold near and dear to my heart, I have come to the conclusion that I should offer this apology. I would ask anyone who I may have offended with my comments to forgive me for not making my points a little clearer.
For those that don’t know me, please understand that my intention was never to offend anyone. Although I chose the wrong words, I truly believe the mayor’s policies regarding the lack of inclusion of any ethnic minorities to a board seat in her administration’s recent board appointments is discriminatory. However, I now know I should have articulated my observations a bit differently.
As an African-American woman, I have faced discrimination my entire life. I have worked with every ethnic group as a community advocate in both Jersey City and Hoboken. So I cannot sit by and have people believe that I hold any bigotry in my heart. It is my hope that we can move past my ill-advised comments and focus on the real issue-the lack of diversity exhibited by the Zimmer administration.
Patricia Waiters