Filmmaker Robert Townsend is a personal hero to many

What a joy to see one of Chicago’s own, Robert Townsend, honored for being a true cultural innovator. His full-throttle assault on negative African American Hollywood images via his 1987 parody, “Hollywood Shuffle” was the impetus which inspired the current flowering of African American talent.

What people may not realize is that Townsend is a hero to non-African Americans, too.

Though an Italian American educational group, our institute has always held Townsend in high esteem; indeed, he is much more of a personal hero to us than filmmakers Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese.

It took guts for Townsend, an unknown actor, to take on the powers-that-be, using only his credit cards as weapons.

By contrast, the Italian Americans listed above, who have far more power in Hollywood, have spent their careers either exploiting Italian culture for their own benefit (Coppola via his tourist-trap winery) or perpetuating crude stereotypes of Italian American men as thugs (Scorsese has another “mob” movie opening this fall).

As for the myriad of Italian American actors who — despite their immense wealth — also continue to “criminalize” Italian culture on-screen via endless, pointless gangster movies, Townsend’s wise grandmother from “Hollywood Shuffle” said it best: “There’s always work at the post office!”

Bill Dal Cerro

Senior Analyst

Italic Institute of America

Let CPS students ride CTA for free

The previous mayoral administration had nothing but disdain for Chicago Public School students.

They did such cruel things, like closing 50 schools, former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s version of addition by subtraction.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has a great opportunity to care for the children of this city by requesting that the Chicago Transit Authority allow CPS students to ride the buses for free, just as New York City has done.

Now is the time for Chicago to reject the neglect of the poor, and poor children in particular.

Edward David Juillard, Beverly

Put America first, not hatred for Trump, to make true progress

Because our politicians care more about being reelected and getting campaign donations than protecting our country, our nation and global freedom are at the greatest risk since The Cold War.

We could easily stop China’s massive cheating and stealing by supporting President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China and by boycotting Chinese-made products. We can stop Iran’s barbaric behavior by uniting behind Trump to shut down their economy and punish them for their terrorist attacks. We can stop Russia’s barbaric behavior by shutting down their very weak economy. And we can stop this invasion by illegal immigrants by building a wall, supporting Trump’s pressure on Mexico to stop the invasion from Central America, and enforcing our immigration laws.

But Democrats would rather cripple our economy and put America and the world at risk, rather than uniting to solve these problems which they fear would make Trump look good.

Americans should be furious and should severely punish those politicians at the polls that don’t put America first at this critical time.

Randy Rossi, Grayslake