Readers write: Netflix in Africa, Kennedy's prohibition role, and superlative essayist
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Maxwell Simba perform in 'The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,' a Netflix-carried film directed by Mr. Ejiofor that is set in rural Malawi and acted mostly in a local language, Chichewa.
Ilze Kitshoff/Netflix
Netflix in Africa
How good it was to read Ryan Lenora Brown鈥檚 article 鈥�Whose stories get streamed? Netflix tells more Africans: yours鈥� in the April 22 & 29 issue. I enjoyed hearing about Chiwetel Ejiofor, the actor from 鈥�12 Years a Slave,鈥� and also the new Netflix movie he directed, 鈥淭he Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.鈥� Both stories are global in nature.
My book group read the young adult nonfiction novel 鈥淭he Boy Who Harnessed the Wind鈥� several years ago, and we decided that it should be required reading for middle school students.
Many good movies are based on excellent books 鈥� including both movies mentioned above. Why not recognize the genius of the authors too?
Martha F. Barkley
North Charleston, South Carolina
Kennedy鈥檚 Prohibition role
Your book review of 鈥淭he World According to Fannie Davis鈥� titled 鈥�My mother was a numbers runner鈥� in the April 22 & 29 issue refers to Joseph P. Kennedy as a bootlegger. However, most of his biographers disagree with that assessment. (See 鈥淭he Patriarch鈥� by David Nasaw or 鈥淟ast Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition鈥� by Daniel Okrent.)
Kennedy invested in a shipment of whiskey that arrived on U.S. shores, legally, the minute Prohibition ended. Already a wealthy man, he didn鈥檛 need to smuggle, and he cared about his family鈥檚 reputation.
The bootlegging rumors were put out when his son John ran for president. Joseph P. Kennedy had a lot to answer for, but he probably didn鈥檛 smuggle whiskey.聽
Charles Sanders
Seattle
Editor鈥檚 note: The author of 鈥淭he World According to Fannie Davis,鈥� Bridgett M. Davis, used the Kennedy anecdote to support her decision to tell her mother鈥檚 story. We should have looked further into Joseph P. Kennedy鈥檚 history to avoid perpetuating what could be an incomplete or false account.
Why We Wrote This
Letters to the editor for the May 27, 2019 weekly magazine.
Superlative essayist
You may make all the thoughtful design changes that you wish, provided that you regularly include essays by Robert Klose.
Over the years I feel that I had the privilege of witnessing the upbringing of both his sons. Now, in the May 6 Home Forum essay, 鈥�What a 9-year-old saw in Teddy Roosevelt,鈥� I have a story from Robert鈥檚 own childhood.
He always writes with just the right combination of poignancy, humor, and arresting observations.
Flora Clifford Majumder
Northampton, Massachusetts