This business of racism regarding the Cambridge Police Dept. needs more context than it has been getting. Never before has the issue of racism from the points of view of all involved has been more important--and yet due to squabbles over copyright type rights, a significant TV program which addresses numerous points of view on racial issues has not been re-run, not even on TVLand.

I refer to the Fox TV series "Alien Nation". The 2-hour pilot of 1989 alone addresses many of the issues addressed by the real-life Cambridge incident.

The movie it was based on, starring Mandy Patinkin and James Caan, also cuts no PC corners on the matter, yet I haven't seen a listing on any of the cable movie channels for it. Could it be that CBS's name is on it as well as 20th Century Fox's? AND gets lead billing?

I can't think of a better time for all aggrieved parties of both the movie and the TV series to resolve disputes YESTERDAY and re-run both on the air. Better yet, some interested 3rd party (BET?) buy 'em BOTH out and air them while the topic is still hot. It's the best chance we've got for making a difference in race relations.