To the mayor:

You welcomed me to Selma last week. My colleagues from the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee Justworks team and I came to city hall to meet with you while we were visiting your community. Your welcome and hospitality made a strong positive and lasting impression.

Thank you and please give my heartfelt thanks to the others in Selma who made our visit into a powerful learning experience – both at the Voting Rights Museum and at the Civil War and Slavery Museum.

My wife encouraged you to keep serving and leading and even expressed a wish that someday we may have a chance to vote for you. I asked the “inside the Beltway” question about whether you joined Sen. Clinton’s or Sen. Obama’s events in Selma. Wisely, you made a point of joining both.

Our whole week (Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma and Birmingham) was a powerful learning experience. I will remember your comment: “You don’t need to travel to Selma to find racism in America.”

Thank you on behalf of all who believe that government “of, by and for the people” should remain a shared goal for all Americans, wherever we may call home.

Michael Benefiel

Kensington, Md.