An Issue Book for National Issues Forums Racial and Ethnic ...

An Issue Book for National Issues Forums

Racial and Ethnic Te n s i o n sWhat Should We Do?


This issue book was pre p a red by National Issues Forums Researc h , in co l l a b o ration with the Kette r i n gFo u n d a t i o n . Books in this series are used by civic and educational organizations inte re s ted in addressing publici s s u e s . These organizations use the books in locally initiated forums co nvened each year in hundreds of co m m u-n i t i e s . For a description of the National Issues Fo r u m s , see Pa ge 32. I n d ividuals inte re s ted in using NationalIssues Forums materials as part of their own pro g rams should write National Issues Forums Research at 100Commons Road, D ay to n , Ohio 45459-2777, or call 800-433-7834.

Kettering FoundationThe Kettering Foundation, a nonprofit,nonpartisan research institute based in Dayton,Ohio,(with offices inWa s h i n g to n ,D . C . , and New Yo rk) was founded in 1927. It has provided books, m a te r i a l s , and modera tor tra i n-ing for the National Issues Forums since this nationwide netwo rk was started in 1982. It is enga ged in a widera n ge of activities to pro m o te civic participation and enrich public life. For information about the Kette r i n gFo u n d a t i o n , contact the foundation at 200 Commons Road, D ay to n , Ohio 45459-2799. Phone: 800-221-3657.

Ordering InformationAdditional copies of this book may be ordered from NIF Publications, P.O.Box 41626,Dayton, Ohio45441; phone 1-800-600-4060.It is part of a series that includes other topics such as violent kids,cam-paign spending,public schools,urban sprawl,privacy and free speech on the Internet, gambling,jobs,alcohol,physician-assisted suicide,and Social Security and Medicare. For more information,or to placeorders for these books, contact Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 4050 Westmark Drive,Dubuque,Iowa 52002.Phone: 800-228-0810.

AcknowledgmentsOur thanks go to colleagues at the Kettering Foundation,and National Issues Forums associates and others around the nation for their help in defining the issue framework,clarifying the presentation,orreviewing the manuscript: Beatriz Amberman,Leland Bordeaux,Lan Calderon,Alfredo Carrasquillo,Ramon Daubon,Edwin Dorn,Richard Elkins,Cheryl Gibbs,Damon Higgins,Dennis Hartig,EllisHinnant-Will,Bob Kingston,Chris Kloth,Betty Knighton, Jesus Lechuga, J. Roger Lee,CeasarMcDowell,Bob McKenzie,Estus Smith,Susan Willey, and Ruth Yellow Hawk.

Publisher: Edward J. Arnone

Writer: Greg Mitchell

Editor: Fannie Flono

Research: Deborah Witte,Diara Fleming

Copy Editor: Betty Frecker

Questionnaires: Julie Fisher, Ilse Tebbetts,

John Cavanaugh

Production: George Cavanaugh

Production Assistant: Elizabeth Hensley

Design: Long’s Graphic Design,Inc.

Cover Art: Long’s Graphic Design,Inc.

Inside Illustrations: Long’s Graphic Design,Inc.

Racial and Ethnic Tensions: What Should We Do?

Copyright© 2000

National Issues Forums Institute

ISBN: 0-945639-18-X

For the National Issues Forums

Each book in this series for the National Issues Forums outlines a public issue and several choices, or approaches to addre s s-ing the issue. Rather than confo rming to any single public proposal, each choice re flects widely held concerns and principles.Panels of experts review manuscripts to make sure the choices are presented accurately and fairly.

By intention, issue books do not identify individuals or organizations with partisan labels such as Democrat, Republican, conservative, or liberal. The goal is to present ideas in a fresh way that encourages readers to judge them on their merit. Issuebooks include quotations from experts and public officials when their views appear consistent with the principles of a givenapproach. But these quoted individuals might not endorse every aspect of the approach as it is described here.

A note about this issue book

´ ´

Introduction 2

Approach 1: Look Beyond Race and Ethnicity 8

Approach 2:Build Self-Identity First 15

Approach 3:Open All Doors to Everyone 22

In Your Community… 29

Issue Map 30

What Are National Issues Forums? 32

Questionnaires: Register Your Views 33

By Greg Mitchell

What Should Be Done? 16

Dangers, Drawbacks, Trade-offs 20





As this nation enters the twenty-first century, the rich diversity of its people may be Ameri-ca’s greatest promise — and its greatest challenge. We have made great strides in breakingdown barriers that once separated us.But we still struggle with a legacy of racial discrimi-nation and ethnic disparity, even if their forms are subtler today. This book is designed topromote public deliberation that can help us find common ground for action on the trou-bling racial and ethnic problems that still divide us.It provides an overview of the issue andoutlines three different approaches.Each approach speaks for one set of American priori-ties and views and,drawing ideas from across the political spectrum,advocates a uniqueand consistent way of dealing with the problem.

In this view, we must focus on what unites us,not on what divides us. We will all benefit ifwe stop seeing everything through the lens of race and ethnicity. There has been muchprogress in bridging racial and ethnic divides,proponents of this approach say, and there will be even more if we eliminate racial preferences,which are unfair to everyone.We must also insist that recent immigrants assimilate rapidly. In this view, we should provide equal opportunity for everyone,and treat everyone the same — as Americans.

We should acknowledge and accept differences,not blur them,say supporters of this view.The way to reduce ethnic and racial tensions is to first build racial and cultural identity.We will never learn to get along well with others until we first know who we are — as indi-viduals from different cultural backgrounds.Only through ensuring that our particulargroup is strong and well regarded,can we relate to others. We must allow minority commu-nities and schools to set their own course,even if it means accepting some self-segregation.

This approach calls for all of us to take an active part in finishing the job of integration.It isa job that we will have to work at by making continuous efforts to meet,talk with, andunderstand each other better. Proponents of this view oppose policies that encourage oraccept racial or ethnic separation.Only through living, working,and going to school togeth-er — and setting common goals through community dialogue — will prejudice subside.


Often, however, racial or ethnic conflict shakesthis common ground and twists the threads thatbind us together in this American democracy. Asour country enters the twenty-first century, diversi-ty may be America’s greatest promise — and ourgravest challenge.

Today, more than ever, we are truly a society intransition. Race relations no longer focus narrowlyon problems between whites and African-Ameri-cans. “The classic American dilemma has nowbecome many dilemmas of race and ethnicity,”Linda Chavez-Thompson, executive vice presi-dent of the AFL-CIO, has declared.Our nationalconversation on race now includes, among others,Hispanics,Asian-Americans,Native Americans,Arab-Americans and the very different nationali-ties within each (Cubans and Haitians, for exam-

Racial and Ethnic Te n s i o n s :What Should We Do?

Los Angeles PoliceDepartment officers leadchildren to safer ground,away from the North Val-ley Jewish CommunityCenter, where a gunmanwounded five people.

s Americans we are far more unit-

ed than divided. Whatever the

color of our skin or country of origin we

share many common values: a belief in

fairness and justice and opportunity, a

passionate desire for freedom. Most of

us want the same things in life: safe

neighborhoods, a good job that pays a

fair wage, a comfortable home, adequate

and affordable health care, a quality edu-

cation for our children.

A

ple).“There are problems all over the countryrelating to different ethnic groups,” says Lana Buu-Sao,vice president of the Vietnamese Associationin Orlando,Florida. “It’s not just black andwhite.” America has made great strides in relationsamong its diverse people. Polls show a steadydecline in racial bias over the past decades andthere is wide agreement on ideals of racial equality.Many see tangible signs of progress in a growing,multicolored middle-class and the large number ofnonwhite elected officials.

“I really think there is a new phenomenon outthere,” Eddie Williams told Newsweek magazine.Williams heads the Joint Center forPolitical and Economic Studies,thenation's premier think tank on blacksand politics.According to the center,the number of black elected officialsnearly sextupled since 1970, and isabout 9,000 today. In a Joint Centerpoll last year, blacks were more likelythan whites to say they were better offfinancially than the year before.

And today, America joyously cele-brates the accomplishments of African-Americans. Michael Jordan,LaurynHill,and Colin Powell are just threeexamples. “If you are touched at all byAmerican culture, your idol is likely to be black,”writes Ellis Cose in Newsweek. “There have alwaysbeen black successes and superstar achievers, butnever before has black been quite so beautiful toso many admirers.”

Adds Bobby William Austin,head of the non-profit Village Foundation in Alexandria, Virginia:“When did you ever think you would see blackmen as heroes of white children?”

As a nation,however, we still struggle with alegacy of racial discrimination and ethnic disparity,even if their forms are subtler today. “Bigotry, forthe most part,is not as blatant and obvious andoutrageous as it used to be,” says David Shipler,author of A Country of Strangers. “A lot of it hasgone underground.” Occasionally, it bursts to thesurface, as in the case of the white racists fromJasper, Texas, who beat a black man,chained himto a bumper, and then dragged him to his death.Or in the shooting of three young boys,one only 5years old, at a Jewish Community Center in LosAngeles.The assailant professed hatred of Jews,blacks,Hispanics,and other minorities.

Race remains America’s raw nerve. Even today,

roughly 10,000 hate crimes are reported to policeeach year, the vast majority based on racial or eth-nic bias.

“It is not any one person’s or faction’s fault,”observes psychologist James Jones of the Universi-ty of Delaware.“Rather it is the deep and perva-sive penetration of race into our collective psycheand social institutions.” There is in America adeep-seated national consensus on the ideals ofequality and integration,but a recent Ford Foun-dation opinion poll found that most Americansfeel we are growing apart, not together. A ministerin Indianapolis says,“There are no race relations.

We are two different communities intwo different worlds that hardly haveanything to do with each other.”

To be sure, this is not true every-where.But members of differentraces and ethnic groupings are oftendisconnected from one another —socially, culturally, economically, geo-graphically. Legal segregation may bea thing of the past but different races,for the most part, “still don’t livenext door to each other,” accordingto Lani Guinier, the veteran civilrights lawyer. “We don’t go to schooltogether. We don’t even watch the

same television shows.” Even those who work,play, and live in multicultural environments havedifficulty broaching issues of race and ethnicitywith those not of their same race. One black fatherof mixed-race children, consultant on race andethnicity, and Ivy-league college instructor admit-ted he avoided discussing such issues with closefriends who are white.He said he didn’t knowhow the friendships would fare.

Studs Terkel,author of the book Race, tells thestory of a white friend who was driving down astreet in a black neighborhood. People on thestreet corners started motioning to her and shebecame frightened, raised her windows,and droveon.A few blocks later she realized she was drivingthe wrong way on a one-way street; the local resi-dents had been simply trying to alert her.

The focus on black-white relations in thiscountry has often overshadowed tensions involv-ing other groups.

Racism directed against Korean-Americans orMexican-Americans cannot be dismissed as simplya natural effect of immigration. At the same time,surveys indicate that members of minority groups

“Race remains Amer-

i c a ’s raw nerve. Eve n

t o d ay, ro u g h l y

10,000 hate cri m e s

a re re po rted to

police each ye a r, the

vast majority based

on racial or ethnic

b i a s. ”

Tiger Woods poses with his mother, Kultida, and the winner’s trophy after capturing the U.S. Open Golf Championship.

Counties experiencing the greatest increase in percentage ofHispanic population from 1990-1997COUNTY COUNTY POPULATION % GROWTH

1997 HISPANIC POPULATIONWashington Co., Florida 20,189 494%Tyler Co., Texas 20,064 433Walton Co., Florida 37,357 329Jefferson Co., Illinois 39,154 224Paulding Co., Georgia 67,000 224Henry Co., Georgia 95,067 208Forsyth Co., Georgia 74,500 205Taylor Co., Florida 18,852 193Winn Parish Co., Louisiana 18,091 191Benton Co., Arizona 131,759 181Lonoke Co., Arizona 47,643 170Coweta Co., Georgia 79,385 168Carroll Co., Arizona 22,348 165Cherokee Co., Georgia 127,500 165Murray Co., Georgia 32,364 162Greene Co., Georgia 36,417 162Effingham Co., Arizona 34,000 162Saline Co., Arizona 75,769 161

Washington Co., Arizona 136,621 160

Source: U.S. Census Bureau estimates

immigrants with dark skin from the Caribbean,butthey are all commonly labeled as “blacks.”

According to recent projections,the percent-age of Hispanics and Asians in the United Stateswill double within 50 years while the percentage ofwhites in the population drops to roughly half.Already, the number of interracial marriages andmixed-race children is soaring.More and more ofus are “blended,” of mixed-race, including suchcelebrities as Mariah Carey and Keanu Reeves.Tiger Woods proudly declared himself a Cabli-nasian, recognizing his white, black,AmericanIndian, and Asian bloodlines.

The old clichés of America as “melting pot”or“great checkerboard”are weakening. The first sug-gests a loss of identity, the second a separate iden-tity. Rather, we are a wonderful mix of cultures andraces,old and new immigrants,not yet thoroughly“Americanized.” A white parent in Secaucus,NewJersey, recently said,“My daughter brings homethe League of Nations,and I know I’ve becomemore tolerant. I think people are more and morelikely to take people at the value of what they are.”Young people,especially, appear less self-con-scious about race.

Today, “diversity”is the word,but it meansdifferent things and suggests different policies to

often have negative views of other minority groups— who can forget black rioters in Los Angeles in1992 targeting Korean-owned stores? — just asdamaging to racial harmony as white prejudice.Different races and ethnic groups often feel in con-flict over a “fair share” of jobs,access to publichousing, college admissions and political power.Even within such groupings there is prejudice andresentment — for example,between old and newimmigrants,or between the poor and the middle-class.

Conflict between Vietnamese immigrants inWestminster, California, received national attentionwhen a shop owner put up a picture of Commu-nist leader Ho Chi Minh in his video store,andwas promptly picketed and pummeled by fellowVietnamese-Americans.

Now we face new challenges as our countrybecomes even more multiethnic and multiracial.Residents of several counties in the United Statesmay represent more than 100 different racial andethnic groups.Skin color often means less thanethnicity, language, and culture.The cultural dif-ferences between Japanese-Americans and Lao-tian-Americans,for example, are vast.African-Americans may have a very different heritage than

different people. Many Americans agree that diver-sity — in our neighborhoods, workplaces, andschools — is ideal,but perhaps unrealistic. Othersdisagree about the best ways to achieve equalopportunity and racial balance. How much inte-gration is “enough”? What kind of segregation isacceptable,even desirable — if it’s voluntary?

Clearly, tolerance does not mean uniformity.We need a new language,a new way of talkingabout racial differences,suspicions, and conflicts.This booklet is one attempt to promote fresh andmeaningful dialogue on this issue. We shouldremember that our national motto, E pluribusunum, suggests “we are one,” but also “we arestriving to become one.

Even though most of us may want similar thingsin life, we do not all have an equal chance toachieve them. And we often disagree on how muchwe should look to the government to improve con-ditions.Social conservative columnist Cal Thomasobserves, “Sure, racism exists. But the best way toreduce its impact is not to pass more laws or fundmore failed government programs.”

Decades ago,the eminent scholar W.E.B.Dubois predicted that the main problem of thetwentieth century would be race,and at the dawnof the twenty-first century race still matters in pro-found ways.It can affect the ability of a citizen toreceive an equal chance at securing a job, healthcare,education, housing,and justice in the courts.As author Michael Lind has observed,“The civilrights revolution abolished racial segregation bylaw, but not racial segregation by class.”

Race and poverty are often linked in America.It is important to resist a strict equation,for itobscures the many racial problems in our societythat exist independent of any economic factors.And,after all, whites make up almost half of thosewho live below the poverty line.

Still,one cannot ignore the reality of racialinequities.President Clinton has said that whitesdon’t have to “accept blame for things that hap-pened before you. But you do have to accept thefacts of the society you live in.”

■ According to one report, 97 percent of top male executives are white.

■ Eleven percent of all whites live in poverty,compared with 14.5 percent of Asians, 28 percent of blacks,29 percent of Hispanics — and 51 percent of Native Americans.

■ A recent study revealed that about one-third of all black and Hispanic students attend schools that have 90 percent or more minority enrollment — and many of these schools offer substandard education.

■ Minorities are much more likely to be victims of abuse at the hands of police,or receive what appear to be harsher sen-tences in the criminal justice system.

■ Native Americans, meanwhile, remain America’s poorest and most invisible peo-ple — except when they appear as sports mascots.

Racial stereotypes can have an effect evenwhen an individual achieves success. Asian-Ameri-cans complain, for example, that many of them arepegged as superior technical workers — butviewed as poor managers,and so are “steered”along a narrow career path.

Percent of children ages 6-181995 2010 2030 2050

Whites 72% 60% 50% 49%African-American 18% 17% 17% 20%Hispanic 17% 20% 29% 31%Asian 5% 5% 10% 10%

Native American 2% 2% 2% 2%Note: Percents do not add to 100 because the Hispanicpopulation includes members of several races.Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census

Changing SchoolPopulationProjections by the U.S.Bureau of the Censusshow that by 2050 one in fourschool-age childrenwill be Hispanic.

San Francisco Police Chief FredLau, center, looks on during achild safety seat demonstrationin the Chinatown district of SanFrancisco. Lau’s career rise, fromthe department’s fifth Asian-American officer in 1971 to chief of police, is a reflection of a century of change for ChineseAmericans.

Beginning the DeliberationAmericans often look at race through different

lenses.Opinion polls suggest that most whites feelracial problems have largely been solved and equalopportunity exists for all,while others disagree. Aslegal analyst Richard Delgado points out, “Whitepeople rarely see acts of blatant or subtle racism,while minority people experience them all thetime.” A recent CBS News survey found that sevenin ten blacks feel that improving race relations wasone of the most important things we could do forthe future of the country — but only about three inten whites agree. Another survey found that 55percent of blacks,but only 18 percent of whites,believe racial discrimination is still a very seriousproblem in our society. Great challenges lie aheadas the complexity, and complexion,of our societychanges. Martin Luther King,Jr. declared thatpeople hate each other because they fear eachother. And why do they fear each other? Becausethey don’t know each other. They don’t knoweach other because they have trouble communicat-ing with each other — because they are largelyseparated from each other.

This is why meaningful,national deliberationson this issue are important. Notice that we areusing the word deliberations,not debate. Debatesare generally limited to experts, officeholders,ormedia figures arguing a set position.The object ofa debate is to “win”— that is, persuade others toyour point of view. Those who attend debates usu-

ally just observe silently, and perhaps eventuallytake one side or the other.

Deliberations are something quite different.They offer an opportunity to talk about somethingthat leads not to “victory” for one side’s opinionbut a better understanding of various views, cul-tures,and experiences,as we seek to find,wherev-er possible, common ground for action. Theyengage average citizens in the dialogue about thebenefits, drawbacks, and trade-offs in differentcourses of action.In deliberations of this kind, thekey is to listen,not just talk.

Karen Narasaki, executive director of an Asian-American legal consortium,says, “it is fitting thatthe Chinese character for crisis combines the sym-bols for danger and opportunity. I believe this is aparticularly apt description of race relations in theUnited States today. We have an opportunityeither to come together to understand one anoth-er’s struggles or to let the political rhetoric drive awedge between us.”

Still, we recognize that race is a uniquely diffi-cult and sensitive subject.Most people lack experi-ence in talking with others about race. Many are,understandably, afraid to say the wrong thing orrisk being misunderstood.After a year of holdingpublic forums, John Hope Franklin, chairman ofthe advisory board of the President’s Initiative onRace,said,“Often,it has been difficult to get par-ticipation from white Americans,perhaps becausethey feel that issues of race do not affect them.”

Others are tired of talking about the problembecause they feel that some people are not reallylistening — or they believe that talk will lead to lit-tle concrete action. (This is the voice of the power-less.) Still others feel that the less said about thissubject,the better, for everyone of all races. Theseare all natural responses.

Yet many who do take part in these delibera-tions often come away with new insights and asense that they’ve helped inspire understandingamong others, too.Public deliberation can encour-age individuals and local leaders to commit them-selves to finding common goals that cross raciallines. A community can go beyond showing con-cern to actually taking action.

“We are so afraid of inflaming the wound thatwe fail to deal with what remains America’s centralsocial problem,” says Harlon Dalton,author ofRacial Healing. “We will never achieve racial heal-ing if we do not confront each other, take risks,make ourselves vulnerable,put pride aside….Many of my white friends readily embrace their

Approach One says that we must focus onwhat unites us,not what divides us. We will allbenefit if we stop seeing everything through thelens of race and ethnicity. There has been muchprogress in race relations,this choice insists, andthere will be even more if we eliminate racial pref-erences, which are unfair to everyone,and insistthat recent immigrants assimilate rapidly. Weshould provide equal opportunity for everyone,but treat everyone the same — as Americans.

Approach Two says we should acknowledgeand accept differences, not blur them. The way toreduce ethnic and racial tensions is to first buildracial and cultural identity within the ethnicgroups that comprise life in America. We willnever learn to get along well with others until wefirst know who we are — as individuals whobelong to different ethnic histories.Only throughmaking sure that our particular group is well-regarded and strong,can we relate to others. Wemust allow minority communities and schools toset their own course,even if it means acceptingsome self-segregation.

Approach Three calls for all of us to take anactive part in finishing the job of integration.It is ajob that we will have to work at by making contin-uous efforts to meet, talk with,and understandeach other better. Proponents of this view opposepolicies that encourage or accept racial or ethnicseparation.Only through living, working, andgoing to school together — and setting commongoals through community dialogue — will preju-dice subside.

ethnic identity, or define themselves by religion,geographic region,or profession. But few sponta-neously think of themselves in racial terms.”

Some may feel that bringing the races togetheris not their responsibility. But what if our fates, infact,are linked? If you’ve ever had the followingexperience you probably remember it quite well:Traveling abroad, you unexpectedly run intoanother American. Race or ethnic backgroundsuddenly means nothing and you are delighted tomeet a fellow American — and proud of who youare and the country you call home. An African-American in Birmingham, Alabama,described thisfeeling when he noted that despite “all the badthings,” if he had to choose “I wouldn’t live any-where else in the world….I still think this is thegreatest place.” Adds a Hispanic woman in SanJose, California: “I know we have a high level ofpoverty, but then we also have a lot of opportuni -ties to leave that status.I think we are lucky.” Thecontinuous challenge,according to John HopeFranklin, is “to convince Americans across allracial and ideological lines that,given our coun-try’s increasingly diverse population, we must tryto find common solutions to the problems thatdivide us.”

A Framework for DeliberationTo promote dialogue about racial and ethnic

tensions in the United States,this issue book presents three perspectives, or approaches, con-cerning directions we may take.Each suggests certain actions that must be taken — as well as likely trade-offs.

For Further Reading /Racial and Ethnic Tensions: What Should We Do?■ A n gelo N. A n c h e t a , Race, Rights and the Asian American Experience,

( P i sc a t aw n e y, NJ: Rutge rs Unive rsity Pre s s ,1 9 9 8 ) .

■ O rlando Pa t te rs o n , The Ordeal of Integration: Pro g ress and Resentment in America’s “Racial” Crisis, ( Wa s h i n g to n , D.C.: Counterpoint Pre s s ,1 9 9 7 ) .

■ D avid Shipley, A Country of Stra n ge rs: Blacks in America, (New Yo rk: Alfre dK n o p f ,1 9 9 7 ) .

■ Studs Te rke l , R a c e , (New Yo rk: Random House Va l u e ,1 9 9 5 ) .

A member of the NativeAmerican Fire Fighting crewstudies the hot spots leftby a fire that burned inOklahoma.

t was the most heated school board

meeting in the recent history of Santa

Barbara. More than 600 residents

showed up and emotions over the issue

at hand — bilingual education — were at

such a fever pitch, the city had posted

six police officers in the auditorium.

Like much of the rest of California,Santa Bar-bara,a historic city of 90,000,has experienced arapid increase in the number of Hispanic residentsin the past 20 years.Hispanics now make upalmost one-third of the city’s population,but manyof them, recent arrivals in the United States,havehad trouble assimilating. Their median income iswell below that of whites and in local elementaryschools more than half of the Hispanic childrenwere enrolled in bilingual programs — taught inSpanish for several years while they slowly gainedproficiency in English.

By 1998,however, most residents of SantaBarbara,including many Hispanic families,hadcome to believe that bilingualism was not working.Some of the students who emerged from the class-es still had difficulty learning English and fre-quently retreated to their native tongue. Testscores remained low. Several school board mem-bers wondered if it was fair to give Hispanics spe-cial support not formerly granted to other ethnicgroups. Some white parents felt the Hispanic chil -dren were being “coddled”and believed bilingual-ism was harming their children — by tying upresources and preventing all kids from mixingfreely and easily.

“This is a multilayered debate,” says schoolboard member Robert Pohl,an educational con-sultant.“It’s about politics. It’s about culture.Andit’s about what is the purpose and responsibility ofthe school system.” On that night in January 1998,the Santa Barbara board ultimately voted torestrict bilingual education, meaning that all Span-ish-speaking children would soon start taking

Look Beyond Race and Ethnicity

I

classes where English took precedence.Fivemonths later, voters throughout California over-whelmingly passed Proposition 227, a state ballotinitiative limiting bilingual education to one year.It affects not just Hispanics but those of other for-eign origin who comprise the 1.4 million childrenin the state for whom English is a second lan-guage. (Ten other states mandate bilingual educa-tion, and programs are under fire in many ofthem.) The initiative had broad-based support,even attracting the backing of 40 percent of thestate’s Hispanics. “I honestly believe the only wayto learn English is to be immersed in it,” said SteveFeria of Los Angeles.“I wouldn’t have a job as aflight instructor if I didn’t have the proper Englishskills.”

But no matter how they voted, parents agreedthat whether you hail from Seoul or Mexico Citythe key to thriving in America is to learn Englishand adapt to other aspects of American culture asquickly as possible.

Treat Everyone the SameThose who support the first approach believe

strongly in this “One America” idea. For them, theAmerican melting pot still exists.While they rec-ognize that there are cultural differences betweenracial and ethnic groups, they believe that ourAmericanism unites us. As we enter a new century,they say, we must focus on what unites us,notwhat divides us,and attempt to finally achieveMartin Luther King,Jr.’s dream of atruly “colorblind” society.

This is especially important today.Because of increased immigration,40percent of our Hispanic populationand 60 percent of our Asian popula-tion are foreign born.In his book,Dictatorship of Virtue, Richard Bern-stein observes that assimilationworked pretty well for millions of peo-ple in the past and continues to workfor the many new arrivals who flock — legally andotherwise — to our shores every year. Allowing thepoor and the disadvantaged to “ignore the stan-dards and modes of behavior that have alwaysmade for success in American life is more thanmere silliness,” he adds.“It is a lie.”

Indeed,Americans have been looking at soci-ety through the lens of race and ethnicity far toolong, according to this first approach. We must letit go,and stop blaming so many social problemson racial prejudice or ethnic differences.

What Should Be Done■ Focus on and celebrate our common Americanism. Reject the emphasis on

multiculturalism and ethnic students in high schools and colleges. Return to an emphasis on American values.

■ Insist that English is the one, official language of the United States.Severely limit or abolish bilingual education. Expect recent immigrants to assimilate as quickly as possible and not cling to their own language and customs.

■ Eliminate affirmative action programs and quotas related to race. Hirethe best-qualified applicants for jobs without regard to race or ethnicity.Eliminate double standards for all in school admissions.

■ Enforce civil rights and antidiscrimination laws so that everyone has an equalopportunity to compete.

■ Enact standards for performance in school and on the job to which everyone must aspire and upon which everyone is judged. Abandon school integration and busing programs based solely on achieving racial balance. Focus on improving education in all schools.

?

Racism is a terrible fact of our history but itdoes not determine the actions or beliefs of manypeople today — and it holds back everyone if wecontinue to act as though it does,say those whofavor the first approach.Therefore, we shouldfocus on the present,and reject the race-basedpolicies and preferences that have done moreharm than good.

William Raspberry, a well-known columnistwho is African-American, calls it a“myth”that “race is of overridingimportance,that it is a determinantnot just of opportunity but also ofpotential,a reliable basis for explain-ing political and economic realities …and the overwhelming basis on whichto deal with the relationships betweenus.” Therefore, we should treat peopleof different backgrounds equally butas individuals,not primarily as mem-

bers of a racial or ethnic group.Civil rightsstatutes must be strictly enforced but racial prefer-ences eliminated.This will promote self-respect,ease resentments, and repair the fabric of our soci-ety that unites us all.

If we want the benefits of community, we mustaccept, even embrace, conformity. An immigrantfrom Korea,for example,should try to quicklybecome more American than Asian — and thenstrive to become more American than Asian-Amer-

“All men should

be judged by their

c h a ra c t e r, not by

the color of t h e i r

s kin.” — Dr. Mart i n

Luther King, Jr.

poll showed that the number of whites who saidthey would move if blacks in large numbersmoved to their neighborhood declined fromalmost 80 percent in 1958 to less than 20 percentin the 1990s. And there is even greater hope forthe future.“I think American young people aregoing to be redefining the very stolid old Crayolasthat we have been coloring America,” saysRichard Rodriguez. A recent survey showed thattwo out of three young African-Americans andthree out of four young whites believe they dealwith people of different races better than theirparents did — and there is evidence that this istrue.Large numbers of young people are,indeed,dating across races and cultures,and mixingsocially with a broad range of friends.

Polls show that more than 80 percent ofwhites now accept interracial marriage.Roughlyone-third of Hispanics and Asians are already in“mixed”marriages. Racial and ethnic differenceswill continue to lose significance because of whatis known as “the blending of America” — as thiscountry, which has been mainly black and white,becomes largely tan or brown in the next century.

ican.In this vein, essayist Richard Rodriguez pro-poses a bumper sticker that reads: “AssimilationHappens.”

Not along ago,Louisiana Governor Mike Fos-ter approved an order banning affirmative action incertain state agencies — and on the same daysigned a bill making Martin Luther King,Jr.’sbirthday a state holiday. He said he could findnothing in Dr. King’s writings indicating that “hewanted reverse discrimination.He just wanted anend to all discrimination based on color.” Kingbelieved “all men should be judged by their char-acter,” he added, “not by the color of their skin.”

We Are Ready to Do ThisThose who favor the first approach believe

America is ready for this approach because oursociety has made steady progress in overcomingprejudice and promoting equality. At a recent pub-lic forum, Abigail Thernstrom, coauthor of thebook America in Black and White, declared thatordinary Americans of all backgrounds “are livingtogether, they’re working together, they’re diningtogether, they’re forming interracial friendships …America is outgrowing its racial past.” A Gallup

Linfield College studentRyan Harris, second fromleft, is joined by fellow stu-dents during a rally toprotest his beating by threewhite men. Harris suffereda concussion after he wasattacked by the menyelling racial epithets wholeft him bleeding andunconscious in the street.

Clear Progress for MinoritiesAnother hopeful sign is that race and poverty

no longer deserve to be mentioned in the samesentence,advocates of Approach One argue.Mostmembers of minority groups are not impover-ished. In fact, the number of middle-class Hispan-ics and African-Americans has grown significantly.Members of all races have gained prominence inbusiness, government, the media, sports,andentertainment,and most have achieved successthrough traditional American methods of hardwork and persistence,not because of preferentialtreatment.

“What is important is that opportunities bemade available to all persons, regardless of race orethnicity,” Linda Chavez of the Heritage Founda-tion declares.“Ultimately, though,it is up to indi-viduals to take advantage of those opportunities.”

Consider the city of Memphis, Tennessee,once racially segregated, and the site of MartinLuther King,Jr.’s assassination. It now has a blackmayor, black congressman,black school superin-tendent, and black police director. A local surveyfound that more than one-third of its residents livein racially mixed neighborhoods.

“In our generation we have moved from deny-ing a black man service at a lunch counter to ele-vating one to the highest military office in thenation and to being a serious contender for thepresidency,” says Colin Powell,the former Chair-man of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“This is a magnificent country, and I am proudto be one of its sons.” Although many Hispanics,especially recent arrivals in America,struggle inpoverty, “most Hispanics are making clearprogress into the economic and social main-stream,” according to Linda Chavez.

Asian-Americans have been called the “modelminority” for this reason: they are outperformingwhites in schools and have a higher medianincome. Why are they, as a group,thriving whilemany African-Americans languish? According toWilliam Raspberry, too many blacks believe that“racism accounts for our shortcomings.” MostAsian-Americans,in contrast,feel “their ownefforts can make the difference, no matter whatwhite people think.”

In the view of many who support this firstapproach,preferential programs such as affirma-tive action (when applied on racial grounds) often

AFL-CIO Executive Vice-President Linda Chavez-Thompson speaks at aforum on immigrant worker

do more harm than good,and therefore should beeliminated.Erroll Smith, a black California busi-nessman, says he can’t understand why we aban-doned “the mission of striving toward a color-blind society…. I thought that was the essence ofMartin Luther King,Jr.’s movement.When did the game change? Who changed the rules?”

Why should racial preferences beeliminated? Proponents of ApproachOne argue:

■ They are inevitably unfair, as qualified members of one racial or ethnic group must suffer for the sake of others.

■ They put groups in competition with each other.

■ Preferences send the wrong mes-sage,implying that certain indi-viduals are inferior and requirespecial treatment to succeed.Black essayist Shelby Steele labels it “protec-

tionism.” Setting the bar lower often rewards “mediocrity”and leads to “an enlargement of self-doubt”among its beneficiaries,he argues,for it “tells us that racial preferences can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.”

Our history shows that people of any back-ground who are willing to work hard,stay out oftrouble, and assimilate will find success,accordingto this first approach. All of us must stand on ourown two feet, as did those who came before, andbe judged on merit,not where our parents camefrom or the color of our skin.Americans believe ina fair shake for everyone.What they resent is anunfair advantage.

The San Francisco school system recentlyagreed to eliminate quotas that mandate the num-ber of students at each school according to race orethnicity. This was in response to a lawsuit by Chi-nese-American students who had been turnedaway from good schools solely because the quotafor their group had been filled. “Can you imagine,as a parent, seeing your son’s hopes denied in thisway [due to quotas] at the age of 14?”the motherof one of those students asked.“He was depressedand angry that he was rejected because of hisrace.”

There must be equality of opportunity — butnot a guarantee of equality of results. The rules ofthe game should be the same for everyone.Theoutcome depends on how well individuals play thegame. Shelby Steele suggests that, instead of pref-erences, we should develop social policies “thatare committed to two goals: the educational andeconomic development of disadvantaged people,regardless of race.”

One Set of Standards for AllSchools should treat all students

equally. Those who favor the firstapproach call for raising standards inschools for all students,not settingthe bar lower for some based on racialor cultural assumptions.Revisingstandards or changing teaching meth-ods because some students “learn dif-ferently”than others because of theirbackground only leads to diminishedexpectations — and results.

Some of the initial results in theaftermath of the California voteagainst bilingual education support

this view. Glenn Heap,a second grade teacher atHeliotrope Elementary School in Los Angeles,

Hate Crimes statistics collectedby the FBI under the UniformCrime Reporting Program

1998 IncidentsRace & EthnicityAnti-White 792Anti-Black 2901Anti-American Indian/ 52

Alaskan NativeAnti-Asian/Pacific Islander 293Anti-Multi-Racial Group 283Anti-Hispanic 482Anti-Other Ethnicity/ 272

National OriginTotal 5075Religion 1390Sexual Orientation 1260Disability 25Multiple Bias 5Total 2680Grand Total 7755

“ T h e re must be

equality of o p po r-

tunity — but not a

g u a rantee of e q u a l-

ity of re s u l t s. The

rules of the ga m e

should be the same

for eve ryo n e . ”

Source: U.S. Justice Department

The cultural split between races and ethnic groupswill grow even wider. Some neighborhoods and

schools will resegregate.This will increase tensions and conflict.

Recent immigrants will suffer. Some are simply notready to speak English exclusively at school or on the

job. Demanding that new arrivals assimilate immediatelyignores roadblocks in present-day America that were not socommon years ago,including the lack of well-paying jobs.

Without affirmative action and other remedial programs,minorities (who have been making eco-

nomic progress in America) will fall back again. If there wereno longer any “breaks”for minorities, would they get muchhelp, freely given? And the private sector is still rife with discrimination.

While economic conditions are indeed improving for many minorities, so is the poverty rate for many

groups. Simply enforcing civil rights statutes will notaddress the problem of poverty, which is a major cause of racial and ethnic tensions.

Dangers, Drawbacks, Trade-offswho once taught 80 percent in Spanish but nowteaches 90 percent in English, reports,“I’ve beenpleasantly surprised.” The Hispanic children,hepredicts, are “going to score higher in their tests.By the time they’re seniors, their SAT scores willbe higher because they’ll have had 10 years of aca-demic exposure to English.”

A Hispanic resident of that city, GeorgeRamos,says simply, “This is America. Everyone issupposed to speak English.” Recognizing that toomany “A” students are actually getting a “C”edu-cation, fifteen big city school districts, includingsix of the seven largest, recently set higher stan-dards in reading and math.Educators in thesecities explained that they were tired of being toldtheir children can’t learn, or can’t overcome obsta-cles. And they were also tired of low test scores,high drop-out rates, and students earning diplo-mas they can’t read.

“We must not replace the tyranny of segrega-tion with the tyranny of low expectations,” Presi-dent Clinton said. Back in the 1980s,when manystates stiffened requirements for graduation,criticspredicted that students would drop out of schoolin droves. Instead,most students stayed in school,took the new, tougher courses — and passed them.

A 1998 study by Public Agenda, a nonpartisanresearch firm,discovered that “white and blackparents have unambiguous and virtually indistin-guishable agendas for their children’s schools.Top-notch staff, involved parents and schools thatguarantee basics,set high standards,ensure safetyand order — these are what parents,black andwhite,are seeking.”

What most parents do not consider a priority,according to this approach,are so-called “multi-cultural”programs. Rather than focusing onAmerican culture and values,our common Ameri-canism, “ethnic studies” promote separatism byhighlighting the differences between us, propo-nents of this approach argue.And,as Dr. BradfordWilson, executive director of the National Associ-ation of Scholars, complains,they often treat racialand ethnic identity as the “defining characteristicof an individual.” A high school in Inglewood,California,had to shut down one day in 1998when a riot between black and Hispanic studentsbroke out.The Hispanic students apparentlyresented the fact that the school marked a BlackHistory Month but set aside only one day to cele-brate Cinco de Mayo.

Like bilingual education,multiculturalism maybe well meaning but it delays or discourages entry

into the American mainstream.There are,indeed,certain cultural norms to respect — certain thingseveryone needs to know and do — if one is to suc-ceed in America. As journalist Jim Sleeper puts it,we ought to “nurture some shared American prin-ciples and bonds that strengthen national belong-ing….” A recent national poll on “diversity”spon-sored by the Ford Foundation found that 86 per-cent agreed that “these days, people spend toomuch time talking about their differences ratherthan what they have in common.”

Let Go of ItPeople who favor this first approach admit that

it can be difficult adjusting to a “One America”concept,but it will pay off in the long run.

Consider the case of Cuban-Americans, theysay. Four decades after many began fleeing Cas-tro’s Cuba,their earnings and educational achieve-ments nearly match the U.S. average.Most owntheir own homes and they now exert considerablepolitical power where they live.“Their accom-plishments in the U.S.mainly are attributable todiligence and hard work,” affirms Linda Chavez.

“No government action can replace the motivationand will to succeed that propels genuine individ-ual achievement.” New arrivals among Cubanimmigrants — light-skinned and dark, poor andmiddle-class — have worked to save money andestablish businesses ranging from restaurants tobanks.And they’ve done it without a lot of special“breaks,” according to proponents of thisapproach.

“Our civic culture cannot be blueprinted orparceled out along race lines,” Jim Sleeperobserves.“We affirm individual dignity when werefuse to treat any citizen as the delegate of a sub-culture or race.Our best leaders are those whoshow their neighbors,every day, how to leave sub-group loyalties at the doors of classrooms, juryrooms, hiring halls,and loan offices.”

In June 1863, five months after the Emancipa-tion Proclamation,Frederick Douglass askedwhether “the white and colored people of thiscountry [can] be blended into a common national-ity, and enjoy together … under the same flag, theinestimable blessings of life, liberty, and the pur-suit of happiness,as neighborly citizens of a com-mon country.” He answered: “I believe they can.”That dream, nearly 140 years later, can still berealized if we are willing to let race go.

For Further Re a d i ng / Look Beyond Ra ce and Ethnicity■ Dinesh D’Souza, The End of Racism ( R ive rs i d e , NJ: Simon and Schuster Tra d e ,1 9 9 6 ) .

■ Shelby Steele, Content of Our Character: A New Vision of Race in America (New York: Harper-Collins,1991).

■ Stephen and Abigail Thernstrom, America in Black and White: One Nation Indivisible (Riverside,NH: Simon and Schuster Trade,1997).

Gen. Colin Powell, chairmanof the Joint Chiefs of Staff,and his wife Alma partici-pate in his retirement cere-mony. Powell stepped downas the nation’s top militaryofficer, hailed by PresidentClinton simply as “first andforemost, a good soldier.”

Build Self-Identity First

A young Hispanic dancerentertains the crowd at anannual cultural celebration. t’s a sunny Sunday afternoon in

Arlington, Texas, but 13-year-old

Anthony Do is not outside playing ball

or at home playing a computer game.

Instead he is sitting in class at St.

Matthew’s Catholic Church, as he has

done for the past five years of Sundays,

learning Vietnamese as a second lan-

guage.

And he’s not alone. The first class in 1978drew 50 students. Now more than 400 take part.Twenty volunteer teachers run the program.TheAsian-American population of Arlington has morethan quadrupled since 1980 and today about4,000 Vietnamese live in this city.

Anthony is a typical student.His mother,

Tina, comes from Vietnam but he was born inAmerica and was raised to speak English only andadapt completely to American culture.But this lefta gaping void.Sometimes his mother spoke Viet-namese at home and he didn’t always understandher. In addition,he knew little about Vietnameseculture.Friends didn’t know how to respond tohim,and he didn’t quite know what to make ofhimself.

That was the main reason the Vietnameseelders in the church created the program — tohelp shape identity and build self-esteem.If chil-dren don’t understand or feel positive about theirheritage it is unlikely they will feel good aboutthemselves overall. “We want the children to func-tion in American society, but still be Vietnamese —be well rounded,” explains Chieu Tran, a memberof a Vietnamese-American group at the church.“We want them to be successful.”

Sam Ho, a leader of the large Vietnamese com-munity in Orange County, California,agrees that itis vital to assimilate — but just part way. Viet-namese will only feel “comfortable with them-selves,” he believes, if they maintain their cultureand language even while aspiring to join main-stream America.

A Patchwork Quilt of CulturesSupporters of this second approach feel this

“bicultural” or “pluralistic” concept is the properone for all racial and ethnic groups.They feel it isvery much the “American way.” Where the firstapproach sees a melting pot,backers of the secondapproach describe a beautiful patchwork quilt —all colors and types of Americans joining togetherto form one society whose separate parts maintaintheir own identity and values.Those who favorthis view maintain that this is what it’s always beenlike in America, as previous generations of Irishand Italian immigrants,for example, have shown.

“Well,I am an American,” says Antonia Her-nandez,president of the Mexican-American LegalDefense and Education Fund in California,“and Ilike chili, and instead of apple pie I like flan,and

I

that doesn’t make me less of an American.”In this view, we cannot alleviate racial prob-

lems by attempting to be “colorblind” or pretend-ing that we are all alike. Rather, we must firstrespect the right of others to be different, and rec-ognize that assimilation can be a threat to identity.Everyone just wants a chance to find their momentin the sun.And we can only relate well to others ifwe first make sure that our own cultural group isrespected and strong.

Tolerance and diversity have long character-ized America.The novelist Herman Melville onceproclaimed, “we are not a narrow tribe.” The poetWalt Whitman asked Americans to listen to the“varied carols”being sung across the land.

Latino scholars Albert Camarillo and FrankBonilla propose a new kind of “cultural citizen-ship”that elevates each ethnic identity to a levelplane — with no second-class citizens, cultural orotherwise. They urge Americans to see themselves“not in contentious ways but as cultural citizens ofa nation with connected and interdependent cul-tural communities that constitute the whole.”

What Should Be Done■ Let communities choose school curricula and textbooks that reflect

their history, values, and culture.

■ Support charter and community schools that work, even if the students areoverwhelmingly one race.

■ Establish government and private programs that build “local potential” by creating more “empowerment zones” and of fer “microenterprise” grants to small businesses and individuals. Banks must make loans and help developneighborhoods. Give companies tax credits to provide more support for community projects. Give communities the opportunity and the money to build their own institutions and improve their schools.

■ Require schools to teach students how to interact with people differentfrom themselves and function as good citizens and neighbors. Companiesshould initiate diversity programs that include staff education to build mutu-al understanding and respect among workers of different backgrounds.

■ Devote time, space, and money to celebratory and educational festivals thatfocus on ethnic groups and their cultures.

■ Recognize American Indian tribal sovereignty and treaty rights and econom-ic and educational development.

■ Allow — even encourage — members of various races and ethnic g roups to form their own social, political, cultural, educational, and business organi-zations. This helps them to set their own agenda.

? Integration alone does not solve most socialproblems.That’s why we need to strengthenminority communities and give them a chance tomold their own future,supporters of the secondapproach say. All Americans will benefit — even ifintegration sometimes has to take a back seat toautonomy.

Human Nature and Comfort LevelsWriter H.Y. Nahm recently posed this ques-

tion: How can Asian-Americans be more central inAmerican society? “The answer is simple — Bemore Asian,” he declared. “America doesn’t needmore white-wannabes any more than it needsmore second-rate burger joints.What it needsmore of are first-rate Asians who glory in whatthey are. Freedom from the fear of being differentis what makes an American. Giving others theroom to be different makes us good Americans.Those who get off by putting down someone forbeing different is a good definition of a bad Ameri-can.”

In fact, members of each race or ethnic groupusually choose to associate mainly with one anoth-er, in groups such as the Sons of Italy. This ishuman nature and so long as it is voluntary it canlead to a much-needed strengthening of identity.At many colleges there are black dorms and His-panic student unions. No matter what we “ought”to do, this “herding instinct” and desire for a cer-tain amount of cultural separatism remains strong— and it provides a better “comfort level” for all.Without that comfort level, racial tension will notsubside,say people who favor Approach Two.

Christina Ibarrra, a student at the University ofAkron (Ohio),feels that “certain segregation isokay. If people feel more comfortable with theirown race, then that’s fine,as long as you don’t putdown other races.” Forced segregation,of course,is wrong,but “separate but equal”is often accept-able,if it is voluntary.

For Manning Marable, professor of history atColumbia University, “All-black or all-Latinoneighborhoods in themselves are not the problem….” The problem is the substandard level ofhousing, health care, jobs,and schools in many ofthose neighborhoods.The overriding goal, forhim,is not integration,but rather “equality…. Ifintegration helps us get there, fine.If not, othertools must be employed.”

school does not discriminate against nonblacks itviolates the state requirement that each charterschool “reasonably reflect”its community’s ethnic

diversity. In fact,almost one-third ofthe charter schools in the state areoverwhelmingly black.Most of theparents enrolled the children in theseschools to flee poor public schools.

John Wilson, executive directorof the largest teacher’s union in thestate, warns, “I think if a school endsup segregated, yes, it should beclosed down.” State legislators vow todo just that.One of them says, “Idon’t want my tax dollars to pay foran all-white system or an all-blacksystem. My whole belief is the onlyway you are going to have racial har-mony in this country is for people toknow each other, and schools are a

means to do that.”But those who support these schools say par-

ents should have the right to seek the best educa-tion for their children. A Healthy Start parent says,“I do know as a matter of fact my daughter’s get-ting a better education and that’s the bottom linefor me right now.”

Indeed,the 1998 education study by PublicAgenda discovered that to achieve high standards

The Case for Charter SchoolsConsider North Carolina’s Healthy Start

Academy, one of more than 50 char-ter schools in the state.It was set upin the basement of a church to attractstudents who would normally attendunresponsive and substandard publicschools. In just one year it gainedrenown for raising test scores andattendance rates. In the fall of 1997,the school’s incoming second graderstested at the 34th percentile national-ly; by the following May they hadclimbed to the 75th percentile.Healthy Start’s kindergartners,mean-while, soared to the 99th percentile,among 5 million students testednationwide. When headmasterThomas Williams announced thoseresults at a school assembly, “momswere crying,” he reports,“Grandmas and grand-pas were crying and yelling.”

How do they do it? “We fly in the face of allthe bureaucratic excuses,” Williams explains. “Wehold up a lantern of expectations. We say to stu-dents: It’s this high.Reach it. And they do.”

There’s just one problem: Many educators inthe state are alarmed because, of the 168 studentsat the school, only 2 are white. Even though the

The 1998 educ at io n

study by Public

A genda discove re d

t h at to achieve

high standards in

their schools both

black and white

pa rents would accept

racially unbalanced

s c h o o l s.

Third graders at NampaCharter School in Nampa,Idaho, act out a poem. Eachday, they recite a poemabout a desirable charactertrait, such as kindness or astrong work ethic.

Building Identity, Building CommunityOne of the areas in which this second

approach differs strongly from the first concernshistory.

As we have seen, backers of the first approachfeel that we must turn the page and “move beyondrace.” But others feel that we cannot put race asideuntil we recognize that what happened in the pastpartly explains why discrimination and racialinequalities persist in our society. Every minoritygroup shares a common history of some cripplingform of discrimination: for example,the crueltreatment of Native Americans,the enslaving ofblacks,the oppression of Mexican-Americans andother Hispanics,the forced labor of Chinese-Americans,and the internment of Japanese-Ameri-cans during World War II.

As historian John Hope Franklin says,“Thebeginning of wisdom is knowledge, and withoutknowledge of the past we cannot wisely chart ourcourse for the future.” Those who favor the sec-ond approach feel that problems in the pastexplain why minorities today need extra opportu-nities to develop their own culture and communi-ties.

In this view, it is vital for each racial and ethnicgroup to study and celebrate its own traditions.Itis too much to expect most Americans to under-stand the differences between so many culturesand ethnicities. “What people don’t understand isthat I’m Puerto Rican,” explains Anna Arroyo, apremed student at the University of Akron.“I’mnot Bolivian,I’m not Peruvian, I’m not Mexicanand,” she added, “I don’t understand their cultureeither…. All I know is Puerto Rico.” In fact,theboard of the President’s Initiative on Race foundin its meetings around the country that manyAmericans know little about their increasinglymultihued fellow citizens.

But it is vital,according to this secondapproach,that all of us at least respect our differ-ences and allow others to celebrate their own cul-tures and build their own identities and communi-ties — through everything from private clubs toBlack Studies departments — even if that leads tomore separatism.

Indeed,both whites and minorities must beprepared to live effectively in a world whose popu-lation is multicultural.Children especially need toknow that “there are so many different peoplethese days,” a white Texas mom said at a recentfocus group.Therefore, schools should teach stu-dents how to interact with people different than

in their schools both black and white parentswould accept racially unbalanced schools.A highmajority of African-Americans said that “schoolswork so hard to achieve integration that they endup neglecting their most important goal — teach-ing kids.” In fact, recent research indicates thatdesegregating schools has not significantlyimproved academic achievement for minorities.This means, according to this second approach,increasing our commitment to charter or magnetschools,such as Healthy Start — even if racialcomposition is unbalanced — and supporting theuse of “vouchers”that enable students in poorpublic schools to attend private schools. In Mil-waukee, Wisconsin, for example,this will enablesome 15,000 children from low-income families toattend one of 122 private schools in the city.

Thousands of Hispanicsgather at church for the annual Our Lady ofGuadalupe festival, a Spanish Catholic tradition.

This manager of a Vietnamese restaurant says a variety of people come into his place for lunch and dinner.

themselves and how to function as good neighbors.Bilingual programs should continue for they

often serve an important role in a culture. A moth-er who immigrated from India comments, “Whenthey come to this country it’s sort of a mentalshock.So why do we want to scare the kids? Givethem one or two years [of bilingual education].”

Native Americans face a uniquechallenge.Many live on remotereservations and their tribes are notrespected as nations because non-Indians do not understand the sover-eignty granted to them by the UnitedStates.Nor do they understand theimportance Native Americans placeon the need to maintain what’s left oftheir homelands. To some people, theimage of the American Indian derives strictly fromsports mascots or nicknames — Braves,Chiefs,Redskins.

“If your memory of us is a mascot we’d rathernot be remembered,” says Hector Pacheco, aCalifornia Indian activist. “I am flesh.I take offenseat these symbols.” John Orendorff,one of his colleagues at the American Indian Education Com-mission in Los Angeles,feels that people “love usas long as we’re doing crafts or dancing.But landissues? Violation of civil rights? It makes them very

uncomfortable.” Perhaps that is why so manyNative Americans fiercely defend their right to beself-governing and maintain their own cultures,religions,languages, and traditional practices.

Diversity in the workplace must also berespected,even encouraged,supporters of the sec-ond approach argue.After all,it is on the job

where most of us come in contactwith others of different races.Diver-sity programs often include staff edu-cation to build mutual respect amongworkers of varied backgrounds,andencourage outreach to minority con-tractors.

A recent diversity effort in Cali-fornia brought together such majorcompanies as Wells Fargo Bank,

GTE,and Pacific Gas and Electric. The executivedirector of the Greenlining Institute,which orga-nized the effort, comments, “These companiesknow that embracing diversity gives them a com-petitive edge for both attracting and keeping cus-tomers, and hiring qualified employees.”

Companies need not embrace affirmativeaction programs or quotas,but should set hiringgoals.This is simply good business as our increasingly multiracial society engages a globaleconomy.

Bilingual prog ra m s

should continue for

t h ey often serve an

i m po rtant role in a

c u l t u re .

Daniel Yankelovich, the public opinion ana-lyst, comments: “Affirmative action is a code for aset of practices that are seen as zero-sum, wheresomebody wins and somebody loses.Diversityisn’t seen that way. Diversity is seen as everyonewins, as advancing the goals that everyoneembraces.”

Overcoming Media StereotypesAlthough the media and motion pictures are

far more diverse than they once were,with manyminority reporters and actors,they continue,at the same time, to perpetuate stereotypes of theindustrious Asian, the lazy Hispanic,the violence-

prone African-American. “Not all Indians wearheaddresses,hold pow-wows,carry hatchets,”complains Jason Giles,member of the MuskogeeCreek tribe in Wisconsin.

This is particularly damaging to young peo-ple.A recent survey of 1,200 racially diverse chil-dren revealed that they wanted to see all racesportrayed “more often,more fairly, more realisti-cally, and more positively.” These children,Approach Two suggests,must be given the abilityto distinguish between an image on the screenand reality, if the races are to come together inthis country.

Former New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean,a member of the advisory board for the Presi-dent’s Initiative, criticized the board for notaccentuating the role of television. “We know inevery area we’ve dealt with that the electronicmedia is still the source of stereotypes and mis-conceptions,” Kean said.“We know that preju-dice is learned. We’re not born with it.If youdon’t address the primary teaching tool — whichunfortunately is television rather than school —then you’re not doing your job.”

People become captives of what they haveseen,not what they know. Bill Cosby has chargedthat television and movies ignore racial prejudicewhile perpetuating racist stereotypes that “keepus estranged from the rest of the country.” Weimagine most things before we experience them.

“People cannot talk to each other if they areinfluenced by stereotypes and half-truths aboutother Americans who,though they live, shop,work,and raise their children in the same com-munities,are ‘different’ from themselves,” accord-ing to Manning Marable.Before we can realizeMartin Luther King,Jr.’s dream of a societygrounded in human equality, he observes, wemust find ways to promote accurate cultural andsocial images “that illuminate the real problemsexperienced by people of color”in Americatoday.

Helping Hands of Business and Commerce

None of these steps, however, will solve socialproblems that afflict minorities.How to help alle-viate economic inequality? Government and pri-vate programs,according to the second approach,should focus on empowering minority communi-ties — not necessarily by integrating them andcertainly not tearing them down, but keepingthem intact and making them truly livable.

Segregation in much of our society is already spread-ing, even without additional encouragement.It sus-

tains stereotypes or creates new ones. This approach willwiden the distance between ethnic and racial groups.

Multicultural or ethnic studies can cause as muchresentment as understanding when it is forced on

people.And where does it stop? There simply isn’t enoughtime in schools to study dozens of ethnic groups.

Encouraging minorities to form their own clubs andorganizations condones discrimination and sepa-

ratism. For example,white country clubs might feel morecomfortable excluding black members.“Reverse racism,”real or imagined, has a mushrooming effect.

Charter schools that become segregated may succeedacademically in the short run, but in the long run, stu-

dents suffer from not being exposed to children from otherbackgrounds and cultures.

“Empowerment zones” are limited in scope and canimprove only scattered communities and individuals.

Allowing communities to administer private or governmentprograms with little outside interference often leads to wasteand other abuses.

Attempting to force the entertainment industry andthe media to treat all groups fairly opens the door to

“political correctness,” and censorship,and threatens FirstAmendment rights.

Dangers, Drawbacks, Trade-offs

■ Build “local potential” by creating more“empowerment zones” and offer “micro-enterprise”grants to small businesses and individuals.

■ Tax credits and other benefits would per-mit corporations to provide more support for community projects.

■ Banks must help develop neighborhoods even if they remain basically segregated.

■ Give community leaders the opportunity,and the public and private money, to build their neighborhoods — and Native Ameri-can reservations — and improve their schools.

For example,the Start-Up program in EastPalo Alto, California,puts together aspiring busi-ness people from low-income communities who’vehad trouble raising capital,with students from thebusiness school at nearby Stanford University, andalso provides grants.In Phoenix, Arizona, a com-munity development corporation called ChicanosPor La Causa offers educational and training ser-vices to promote employment in one of that city’spoor, largely Hispanic neighborhoods.

A national organization specializing in what itcalls “bootstrap capitalism” is Trickle Up,a non-profit program located in New York City. It cur-rently provides seed-money grants to more than300 “microenterprise”businesses in the U.S. —mainly in low-income neighborhoods — includinga television repair business in Davenport, Iowa, ablacksmith in Ithaca, New York,and a T-shirtbusiness in Bridgeport,Connecticut.Local com-munity development groups,churches,and otherneighborhood organizations often provide trainingand other support.

For Further Re a d i ng / Build Self-Identity Firs t■ John Hope Fra n k l i n , Race and History: Selected Essays ( B a ton Rouge: Louisiana State Unive rsity Pre s s ,

1 9 9 0 ) .

■ Alvin M. Josephy Jr., The Indian Heritage of America (New York: Houghton Mifflin Co.,1991).

■ Marcelo M.Suarez-Orozco,Ed., Crossings: Mexican Immigration from Interdisciplinary Perspectives(Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press,1998).

■ Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club (New York: Putnam Publishing Group,1989).

Daniel Delehanty, deputy director of TrickleUp, says this is becoming an important option“for people and communities to become econom-icly sufficient.” He contrasts it with governmentprograms that take people off welfare and thenplace them in dead-end, low-paying jobs. “We canhelp entrepreneurs build business skills and col-lateral,” he argues.

More than 30 African-American and Latinochurches in Sacramento County, California,haveformed a coalition to move local residents fromwelfare to work — or toward owning their ownbusinesses through microenterprise grants.Theyalso sponsor job-readiness programs in partner-ship with local government and local employers.

Yet this new group, known as the SacramentoValley Organizing Community, has been carefulnot to rely on government funds which might leadto losing their independence. For them, autonomyand a chance to build their own communitycomes first. “Government agencies worked withus because we pressed them,” says the Rev. Cor-nelius Taylor, Jr. “We said we are part of the com-munity and we want to serve the community, andif you meet us halfway, we’ll come the other half.”

Darlene Vargas,a recent graduate of the pro-gram,who had previously been on welfare for sixyears,emerged with a can-do spirit. “Before thisprogram,” she explains, “I could have been themouse over there against the wall where nobodywould see me.Now my self-esteem is off the chart.There’s nothing I can’t do.”

Open All Doors to Eve ryo n e

Two boys live and play in the same subdivision in Gastonia, North Carolina. aplewood and South Orange

are two lovely, tree-lined, New

Jersey suburbs about half an hour by

train from New York City, with a com-

bined population of nearly 40,000. A

few years ago several community leaders

in the adjoining towns became con-

cerned about an emerging problem:

demographics were changing in the area

and the two towns were becoming

increasingly segregated by race. The

number of blacks and Hispanics (many

of them immigrants from Haiti) in

Maplewood and South Orange had

grown to more than a quarter of the

population, but the vast majority resided

on the east side of the two towns while

the west side remained more than 90

percent white.

Property values had continued to rise and thelocal schools were still ranked among the best inthe state. The community could have stood by anddone nothing; there were no court orders,fewpublic voices crying out in protest. Instead, theydecided to take a pro-active,pro-integration posi-tion,because “we didn’t want the trend to segrega-tion to continue,” as Barbara Heisler Williams,head of the new Community Coalition, puts it.

First,they created a study group to examinethe issue and enlisted outside experts to advisethem. Then they established a Racial Balance TaskForce to “create unity out of diversity”and stemthe tide of segregation.It encourages real estatebrokers to show homes to members of all races inall neighborhoods — and tests local realtors’ prac-tices to make sure there is no “racial steering.” Thetask force also promotes community dialogue onracial issues through an open-ended series offorums and social events, and encourages civicorganizations to add people of color to their all-white boards.

Former New Jersey governor Thomas Keansingled out Maplewood/South Orange in the finalreport of the President’s Initiative on Race.“We’reon the cutting edge here,” school superintendentDr. Ralph Lieber explains,“because these are the

M

kinds of problems the whole nation will eventuallyhave to face.”

Local residents took special pride when Lau-ryn Hill, who was raised in South Orange andattended public schools there,captured anunprecedented six Grammy Awards in 1999. Shehas turned her girlhood home into a recording stu-dio — and lives in another house nearby. “I thinkher success really helps legitimize our communityand its diversity,” comments town official WilliamCalabrese.“We want to show the world that ourtown can thrive with all colors and creeds, and Ms.Hill is helping us do that.”

Going Forward TogetherMany who favor the third approach applaud

intervention to promote integration — an ideawhose time has not passed, they feel.Our first twoapproaches tolerate, and in some cases encourage,a certain degree of separation between races andethnic groups. Our final approach,in contrast,argues that racial problems can only be alleviatedby working together to promote dialogue,increaseopportunity, resist segregation — and address theroot causes of social inequality.

Or, as Julian Bond,chairman of the board ofNAACP, puts it: “We go forward fastest when wego forward together.”

People supporting the first approach say thatrace relations will improve dramatically if we take acolorblind approach and stop focusing on race.The second approach suggests that respecting thediversity in America and giving minority commu-nities more autonomy will eventually solve theproblem. But this third approach says that both ofthose options leave the separation between theraces pretty much intact,with only the hope thatthis will change in time.Simply being against dis-crimination doesn’t necessarily bring peopletogether.

A truly colorblind society, Newsweek columnistEllis Cose asserts,cannot exist as long as whitesand nonwhites “live, in large measure,in totallydifferent, color-coded worlds.” Proponents of thethird approach believe that the only way to resolvethe problem with lasting effect is through aggres-sive intervention: from community dialogue toeffective social programs.

Persistent, Deep Problems ofDiscrimination

Those who favor this approach acknowledgethat there has been much progress in the area of

What Should Be Done■ Rigorously enforce civil rights and desegregation statutes and discrimination

laws, and reverse the recent reduction in resources for many agencies involved in this ef fort. Monitor banks and real estate companies to promotefair lending and open housing, and urge vigorous prosecution of violators.

■ Crack down on “profiling” and police abuses in minority communities and provide new channels for complaints and feedback from the community.

■ Make sure that local organizations and clubs are truly open to all races.Promote efforts to end lingering segregation in all its forms, and discourage voluntary segregation.

■ Mend, but don’t end, affirmative action in hiring, awarding contracts, and incollege admissions.

■ Form or join local groups or churches aimed at improving dialogue and bringing the races together.

■ Use media extensively to further discussion and understanding, and break down stereotypes.

■ Continue programs that attack the root causes of poverty, which falls disproportionately on minorities and in turn causes stereotyping and racism. That means allocating ample resources to early education, health programs,job training, and job creation, among other areas.

?

race relations and economic equality in the pastdecade — but they insist that the glass is still halfempty. As David Shipler, author of A Country ofStrangers, said recently, things have gotten betterand worse.He points out that today there aremore nonwhite corporate executives — and morenonwhite prison inmates — than there were tenyears ago. “But which number do you choose tofocus on?”he wonders.

And even when people of color ascend to theupper-middle-class it does not guarantee that theywill escape prejudice.Jarobin Gilbert,a high-rank-ing television executive who graduated from Har-vard,once said,“It’s pretty hard to feel like you’remainstream when you’re wearing $2,000 worth ofclothes and you can’t catch a cab at night.”

Other longstanding problems endure, accord-ing to proponents of the third approach. Racialprofiling — when police target individuals forinvestigation mainly because of the color their skin— remains a problem in many communities. Fed-eral civil rights officials investigated New Jerseystate troopers after reports that black motorists inlarge numbers were being pulled over for no clear

reason.New Jersey Governor Christine Whitmandismissed the state police superintendent for link-ing certain types of drug trafficking to specific eth-nic or racial groups. President Clinton has calledfor an end to racial profiling and ordered an inves-tigation of the extent of profiling.

Although statistics suggest that many commu-nities across the country have become integrated,the areas where most people of color live havebecome even more segregated,Approach Threeargues.The black, Hispanic, and Asian middleclass may be growing,but most of these familiescluster in suburbs where their neighbors resemblethem.And today, 86 percent of white suburbanAmericans live in neighborhoods that are less than1 percent black.

We have not yet turned the page on the longhistory of segregated housing promoted by devel-opers, banks,insurance companies — and throughthe choices of white home buyers. Studies indicatethat somewhere between one-quarter to one-halfof all blacks and Hispanics face discrimination inattempting to rent or purchase a home.In a“redlining” case in Virginia,a Richmond juryordered Nationwide Insurance to pay millions ofdollars to a local housing group that accused thecompany of not selling policies to many qualifiedblack residents.

Meanwhile, high school graduation rates forHispanics are only half that of whites and 40 per-cent of black children remain mired in poverty,proponents of this third approach point out.

Referring to life on reservations, the Native-American writer Sherman Alexie says,“We’re talk -ing about Third World conditions,fourth worldconditions … I didn’t have running water until Iwas 7 years old … and there are no models of suc-cess in any sort of field for Indians. We don’t haveany of that.”

Racial violence — including attacks directed atwhites — appears to be on the upswing,accordingto Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Cen-ter, possibly fueled by the proliferation of Internetsites sponsored by hate groups.According to arecent Justice Department study, American Indi-ans,unlike whites and blacks,are more likely to bethe victims of violent crime committed by mem-bers of a race other than their own. Racism againstNative Americans remains rampant on the edges ofmany reservations, according to Professor SidneyHarring,an expert on Indian crime.

And what about the so-called “model minori-ty”? Although Asian-Americans, as a whole,

Court Decisions Af fecting Civil Rights of Minorities

1857

1883

1896

1915

1940

1954

1960

1971

Dred Scott v. Sandford. The Supreme Court holds thatAfrican Americans are not citizens, Congress cannotprohibit slavery in the territories, and residence in a freestate does not confer freedom on African-Americans.The decision hastens the start of the Civil War bysweeping aside legal barriers to the expansion of slaveryand inciting the anger of Northerners.

Civil Rights Cases. The Supreme Court strikes down theCivil Rights Act of 1875, saying that “social” rights arebeyond federal control, but blacks cannot be excludedfrom juries.

Plessy v. Ferguson. The Supreme Court decides that ifsegregated railroad cars offer equal accommodations,then such segregation is not discriminatory againstblacks and does not deprive them of their FourteenthAmendment rights to equal protection under the law.The “separate but equal” doctrine is not struck downuntil 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

Guinn v. United States. The Supreme Court rules thatthe “grandfather clause,” which disenfranchised mostAfrican-Americans, is unconstitutional. The clause,adopted by Oklahoma and Maryland, exempted citizensfrom certain voter qualifications if their grandfathershad voted; obviously, this could not apply to blackswhose grandparents lived before the ratification of theFifteenth Amendment.

Hansberry v. Lee. The Supreme Court rules thatAfrican-Americans cannot be prevented from buyinghomes in white neighborhoods.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. The Supreme-Court unanimously overrules Plessy v. Ferguson anddeclares that segregated public schools violate the equalprotection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Gomillion v. Lightfoot. The Supreme Court rules thatthe drawing of election districts so that blacks consti-tute a minority in all districts is a violation of the Fif-teenth Amendment.

Griggs v. Duke Power Co. The Supreme Court makesits first ruling on the job-bias provisions of the CivilRights Act of 1964, declaring that “objective” criteria,unrelated to job skills, for hiring workers are discrimina-tory if they result in minorities’ being relatively disad-vantaged.

appear to be doing very well,there is another sideto the story, according to supporters of this thirdapproach.While they are more likely than whitesto become doctors and engineers,they are alsomore likely to be found in low-paying jobs in theservice industry or in textiles.Many of the poorestare paid off the books in sweat shops or restau-rants.“People think Asians in America are doingso well,” says Tina Tran of Bethesda,Maryland.“In fact,many of the new refugees have the sameproblems as Central American kids: They camefrom rural poverty, their parents work late and arepoorly educated.” Half of the Vietnamese in Cali-fornia are on public assistance.Many Asian-Amer-icans complain that they are stereotyped as goodworkers who are not capable managers.

Communication is CrucialWhat is to be done about all this? Those who favor the third approach would

argue,first,that “intervention” begins at home.Inour lives we can make a conscious effort to get toknow people of other races — what Studs Terkelcalls “aggressive civility” — and promote commu-nity dialogue. The report of the President’s Initia-tive calls negative racial stereotypes “one of themost formidable barriers to bridging our continualracial divide” and argues that one of the mosteffective ways to confront and dispel racial stereo-types “is through continuous,meaningful interac-tion among people of different racial back-grounds.” In particular, young Americans’ general-ly open and optimistic views of race relations mustbe channeled in positive directions.

“You cannot judge another person unless youknow something about the world they live in,” aTexas mother said at a focus group on race.“Yourun the risk of insulting people if you don’t knowwhat they’re doing, their lifestyles, the way theythink. We all have to live together.”

When the Community Building Task Force inCharlotte, North Carolina,kicked off a series ofdiscussions on this subject — leading to a confer-ence attended by more than 600 residents — alocal columnist, Tommy Tomlinson, observed:“Race weighs heavy on all of us.But how do youget strong? You pick up a heavy weight over andover again.”

Indeed, there are hundreds of groups in com-munities across the country promoting communi-cation between the races or addressing racialinequality. Many of them engage the business com-munity and government agencies — both the pub-

1971

University of California Regents v. Bakke. The SupremeCourt requires that the University of California MedicalSchool at Davis admit white applicant Allan Bakke, whohad argued that the school’s minority admissions pro-gram made him a victim of “reverse discrimination.”

City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson. The Supreme Courtdeclares illegal a Richmond, Virginia, set-aside programmandating that 30 percent of the city’s public worksfunds go to minority-owned firms. Such programs areonly legal if they redress “identified discrimination.”

U.S. Supreme Court issues Oklahoma and Georgia rulings, saying schools don’t have to bus to overcomeschool segregation caused by seg regated housing patterns.

September 9, 1999: Cappachione v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools et al: Federal District CourtJudge Robert Potter rules in Charlotte that the Char-lotte-Mecklenburg school system must stop using raceto assign students to schools, effectively ending court-ordered busing mandated in the landmark Swann v.Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education case in1971. The case was heard before the Fourth CircuitU.S. Court of Appeals on June 7, 2000. The appeals ruling is pending.

September 24, 1999: Tuttle v. Arlington County (Va.)School Board. The U.S. Supreme Court rules that theschool system could not use a weighted lottery inadmissions to promote racial and ethnic diversity.

October 6, 1999: Eisenberg v. Montgomery County(Md.) Public Schools: The Supreme Court rules theschool board could not deny a student’s request totransfer to a magnet school because of his race.

Court Decisions Af fecting Civil Rights of Minorities

1978

1991-92

1999

1999

1999

Source: The New York Public Library American History Desk Reference

Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education.The Supreme Court unanimously upholds school busingfor the purpose of racial balance in situations where seg-regation has been official policy and the school authori-ties have not come up with a viable alternative to busing.

1989

lic and private sectors. Working toward a commongoal avoids the “blame game”and promotes racialtolerance and acceptance, according to the thirdapproach.

The Ford Foundation’s Changing RelationsProject recently studied programs in six communi-ties that promote cooperation among immigrantsand established residents. It concluded that themost successful efforts rarely have an overt “racial”agenda; but the process of working together onshared,multicultural projects, reduces tension andcompetition and builds “bonds of trust amonggroups.”

The Center for Living Democracy in Vermontidentified nearly 100 interracial dialogue groups inmore than 30 states.One of its directors,JonathanHutson says,“We have shouted at each other, mut-tered at each other, but have we truly sat and con-versed with each other? No.This is new. And it’sworking…. It’s not about funding or about waitingfor permission from elected officials.Ordinarypeople are getting together and finding their ownsolutions.”The issues may be “macro” or “micro.”

■ The Central Minnesota Community Foundation formed a new project called ADAPT in the city of St.Cloud,which had gained the nickname “White Cloud”because of its perceived hostility to people of color. ADAPT now provides resources and leadership development to promotediversity as a shared value in the community.

■ The Multicultural Center of Northwest Arkansas was formed in 1995 by business,social service,and government leaders toaddress the needs of the growing immi-grant (largely Hispanic) population.It provides employment and housing assis-tance and develops cultural understanding in both directions — using interpreters tohelp the immigrants get a better sense of their new home and helping nativeArkansans better appreciate the newcomers.

■ At a recent forum on race at the University of Mississippi,two women, one white and one black, confronted an angry man and calmly explained why waving the Confed-erate flag at football games was offensive tomany students — and he agreed not towave the flag anymore.

■ After a local newspaper analyzed the rockystate of local race relations, residents in Akron,Ohio, formed the Coming TogetherProject,which soon gained national atten-tion.It has grown into a coalition of 200 organizations committed to improving racerelations through workshops,church activities, and youth programs.

Attack Racist Habits, Patterns“To establish a new framework,” Harvard pro-

fessor Cornel West explains,“we need to beginwith a frank acknowledgment of the basic human-ness and Americanness of each of us…. If we godown, we go down together.” But proponents ofthis third approach recognize that dialogue andcitizen action can only go so far, so they also favormore systemic efforts, by government and busi-ness, to promote integration and equality, anderadicate the hopelessness that pervades so manyminority communities.

After decades of successful desegregation,edu-cators must not backslide and allow most schoolsto again become overwhelmingly one race, propo-nents of the third approach insist.While it is truethat parents of all races identify quality teaching asthe top educational priority, surveys show thatthey also believe strongly in an integrated class-room.They also recognize that black schools onaverage have poorer facilities and fewer resources,and students do less well academically than stu-dents at white schools. This must be remedied.Remedial classes for those hoping to go to collegeshould be continued.

Grace Atkinson, Jane Summey, and GenevieveCummings share a laughbetween sessions of a 1997 community-buildingconference in Charlotte,North Carolina.

“If there can be no consideration of race andethnicity, many schools that have worked veryhard over the years to become diverse will slideback to very segregated patterns,” says JulieUnderwood of the National School Boards Asso-ciation.

At the same time, public officials must rigor-ously enforce civil rights statutes, strengthen lawsagainst hate crimes, and watchdog banks and real-tors to help break new patterns of residential seg-regation,according to Approach Three.Theymust also crack down on police abuses in minoritycommunities,end racial profiling,and providenew channels for complaints and feedback fromthe community. As Randall Kennedy, author ofRace, Crime and the Law, puts it, we must have“a legal system that looks beyond looks.”

A New Affirmative ActionWhat about racial preferences? Racial and eth-

nic quotas, Approach Three argues,must be elim-inated but affirmative action should be mended —not ended.

Contrary to popular belief,most longtime crit-ics of affirmative action stop short of calling for itscomplete dismantling.As one of those critics,Nathan Glazer, recently observed, what “givespause to opponents” is “the clear knowledge”thatthe end of affirmative action means a radicalreduction in the number of blacks and Hispanicsattending select colleges,universities,and profes-sional schools.If that occurs,he maintains, “thepredominant pathway to well-paying and influen-tial jobs”for these individuals would all but disap-pear. He calls this “a disaster for race relations”and for the prospect of a fuller integration ofminorities into the mainstream of society.

Colin Powell, a model American success story,acknowledges that he received special preferences

in rising in the military to become chairman of theJoint Chiefs of Staff.Affirmative action is themajor reason why so many people of color haveclimbed into the middle class in recent years.From 1970 to 1990, for example,the number ofblack doctors climbed from about 6,000 to nearly21,000.All Americans will suffer if that advance isreversed,supporters of this third approach claim.

But affirmative action should be just one ofseveral ways to identify qualified minority candi-dates for jobs or school admissions. Other innova-tive remedies should be tried. For example,theTexas legislature recently ordered that any studentin the state who finished in the top 10 percent ofhis or her class must be admitted to one of the twotop state schools, no matter what their SATscores. This gives blacks and Hispanics — andwhites from rural areas — a better chance toattend these schools.

And,crucially, the state is also tougheningstandards in lower grades so more minoritiesbecome college-capable.As Lani Guinier com-ments,the Texas approach is “helping shift anincreasingly narrow debate over affirmative actioninto a wider public discussion on education.”

More Job Training, Antipoverty EffortsAt the same time, according to Approach

Three, the government must renew or expandsocial programs to attack the root causes of pover-ty, which fall disproportionately on minorities(and,in turn,fosters stereotyping and racism).Asauthor Nicholas Lemann put it,this constitutes“the great obvious failure in our domestic life andthe most pressing piece of unfinished business inour long-running quest to solve the Americandilemma.”

1976-77 89.5 6.5 2.1 1.5 .4

1986-87 87.5 5.9 2.8 3.4 .4

1990-91 85.9 6.2 3.5 4.0 .4

1993-94 82.7 7.4 4.4 4.9 .5

1996-97 79.5 8.3 6.5 6.0 .7

Source: U.S. Department of Education

Higher EducationBachelor’s degrees conferred, by racial/ethnic group 1976-1997Percentage distribution of degrees conferred to U.S. citizens

YEAR White, non- African American, Hispanic Asian, non- American Indian/Hispanic non-Hispanic Hispanic Alaskan Native

That means allocating adequate resources forjob training and job creation (especially for formerwelfare recipients),higher spending on education(especially early education),as well as economicdevelopment for Native Americans — while re-evaluating current antipoverty programs that arenot working.

As Martin Luther King, Jr. said,one cannotask people who don’t have boots to pull them-selves up by their bootstraps.Because this is cost-ly, government agencies must forge innovativepartnerships with local businesses and privateorganizations to encourage them to shoulder moreof the load in job training, improving housing andhealth care,and moving people from welfare towork.

The Complexion of Where We Live“I would love to see the goal of integration be

boisterously set again,” essayist Roger Rosenblatobserves, an opinion that underlines all of the

arguments advanced by advocates of the thirdapproach.

Thirty years ago,the Cleveland suburb ofShaker Heights did just that.It began an integra-tion process that has been hailed as a model forothers to follow. Pockets of segregation remain,and while “not perfect,Shaker Heights is anexample of the possibilities for promoting integra-tion and better race relations in a community,”says John Yinger, author of Closed Doors, Oppor-tunities Lost. And,indeed, the job of preventingresegregation in Shaker Heights is never over,according to local officials.

A few years back,in a landmark case, a federaljudge ordered the city of Yonkers, New York, todesegregate.Residents protested as public andsubsidized housing was built in nearly all-whiteneighborhoods and many experts predicted yearsof tension and “white flight.” But this did notcome to pass and now few complaints are heard.“In the beginning, I was against it,” says EdithReznick,who lives near one of the new low-income developments, “but now, I don’t mind it at all.”

Residents of Maplewood and South Orange,New Jersey, as we have seen, decided to takeaction before court orders were necessary. Nowcommunity leaders are confident that “creatingunity”is here to stay. And they feel they’ve alreadywon most of the battle.“By openly discussingrace, people realize that we all cut our lawns,takecare of our homes,and want a good education forour kids,” says Celia King,a hospital administra-tor and Maplewood committeewoman. “It’sinspiring to hear people talk about something asdelicate as race for the first time in their lives.”

This approach is unnecessary, and represents tired,old thinking,not current realities. Unlike years ago,

there is little institutional racism today, and minorities whoare qualified and willing to work hard can get a fair opportu-nity at every level of society.

Aggressive government intervention in attackingsocials ills has failed in the past.Massive social spend-

ing is expensive and encourages dependency on a govern-ment “sugar daddy” to solve problems.

Efforts to improve communication between ethnicgroups won’t have wide impact. “Dialogue”can only

benefit those who participate. Many people,of all races, sim-ply do not want to talk about these difficult issues. Manyothers are paralyzed by pessimism and feel nothing will beaccomplished.

Forcing a blended society is unrealistic and takes awaythe basic human right to live as you wish, among peo-

ple you choose to live near.

Affirmative action is based on approaches that arefundamentally unfair. Inevitably, someone else suffers

when another is given a “break” in the classroom,in the jobmarket — anywhere.It makes for resentment and racial conflict.

Dangers, Drawbacks, Trade-offs

For Further Re a d i ng / Open All Doors toEve ryo n e■ D avid Cole, No Equal Justice: Race and Class

in the American Criminal Justice Sys t e m ( N e wYo rk: New Pre s s ,1 9 9 9 ) .

■ Cornell West, Race Matters (Boston: Bea-con Press,1993).

■ Cornell West and Henry Louis Gates, TheFuture of the Race, (New York: RandomHouse Value,1997).

Can you think of an example of how racial or ethnic tension and division gets in the way of your community working well? Please describe.

Can you think of an example of how racial or ethnic tension and division affects you or prevents youfrom doing things in your daily life? Please describe.

Can you think of an example of progress you’ve seen in your community on racial or ethnic problems?Please explain.

In your c o m m u n i ty. . .

Look Beyond Race and Ethnicity

Focus on what unites us,not what divides us. We will all benefit if we stop seeing everything through the lens of raceand ethnicity. There has been great progress in race relationsand there will be even more if we eliminate racial and ethnicpreferences.Give everyone a fair, equal chance,but treateveryone the same — as Americans. This means immigrants,too, who need to assimilate rapidly.

What Should Be Done:

■ Set standards for performance in school and on the jobto which everyone can aspire and upon which everyoneis judged.

■ G u a ra n tee eve r yone theopportunity to co m p e te ,and ensure that no one isd i s c r i m i n a ted against basedon ra ce or ethnic origin.

■ E l i m i n a te quotas and pre f-e rential treatment based onra ce or ethnicity.

■ Reassert that English is the one, official language of theU n i ted State s . That includes in classrooms and busi-n e s s e s .

■ Focus on and ce l e b ra te our common American princi-ples and shared va l u e s .

Dangers, Drawbacks, Trade-offs:

■ The cultural split between races will grow wider. Dis-crimination will be perpetuated in housing,on the job,in schools,and in other important ways.

■ The underclass of Americans will continue to grow, andthe income gap will widen.

■ Some people need extra help to even have a fair chanceto compete,and without that boost, they will lose.

■ Recent immigrants will suffer. Demanding immediateassimilation into our complex society is unfair and unrealistic.

Approach 1 C o m p a ri n gAp p ro a c h e s

e have come a long way in the United

States, but lingering racial and ethnic

discrimination continues to strain the bonds that

hold us together. It is time we set our minds to

achieving Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream of true

equality. How can we best do this? To help citi-

zens consider this tough question, this deliberation

guide considers the issue from three different per-

spectives,and suggests approaches by which the

problems might be resolved. Each approach offers

a different diagnosis of what’s wrong. Each pro-

vides a direction for public action. Each includes

ideas and proposals that are drawn from across the

political spectrum. An outline for talking through

this troublesome issue appears on these pages.

W

Build Self-identity First

To reduce ethnic and racial tensions, we must first build racial and cultural identity within the individual groups thatcomprise life in America. The simple fact is that our society ismulticultural. We will never learn to get along with others welluntil we first know who we are,as individuals who belong todifferent ethnic histories.Only through making sure that ourparticular group has its place in the sun,is recognized andstrong, can we relate to others. We must allow communitiesand schools to set their own course,even if it means acceptingsome self-segregation.


■ Let people decide when they want to intermingle andwhen they don’t — professionally or socially.

■ Provide tax breaks,incentives, loans to give minority enter-prises an opportunity to develop and prosper.

■ Permit communities to decide school curricula and text-books that reflect their values, history, and culture.

■ Require schools andemployers to provide bilin-gual education whereverneeded.

■ Devote time, space, andmoney to celebratory andeducational festivals thatfocus on ethnic groups and their culture.


■ This will result in more separation and less contact withmembers of other ethnic groups, which will increase mis-understanding and conflict.

■ Some groups will inevitably be left out — how do youdecide which group deserves preferential treatment or itsown holiday.

■ Our common “American” values and principles will besubmersed and become secondary to minority values.Wewill think of ourselves as hyphenated Americans.

■ It opens the door for political correctness to run rampant.

Approach 2

Open All Doors to Everyone

We must all take an active part in integrating our society, andwe must not encourage or accept racial and ethnic sepa-ratism.Finishing the job of integration — in our schools, ouroffices, and our neighborhoods — should be one of ourhighest priorities.Only through living, working,and going toschool together, will prejudice begin to subside. This alsomeans making continuous efforts to meet, talk,and under-stand each other better.


■ Attack lingering segregationpractices in housing, real estate,and education through everymeans at our disposal, includ-ing strong legal and financialpenalties for offenders.

■ Forge innovative government-business-private organizationpartnerships to provide more job training,improvedhousing, and health care.

■ Continue social programs across the nation that promoteeconomic opportunity and social justice for ethnicminorities; finance them adequately to do the job.

■ Establish community sites for regular dialogue to addresstensions, conflicts,and misunderstandings.

■ Use media extensively to further discussion and under-standing,and to break down stereotypes.


■ Large-scale social programs are too expensive and ineffi-cient,and perpetuate a culture of dependency.

■ Forcing a blended society is unrealistic and takes awaythe basic human right to live as you wish, among people you choose to live near.

■ Preferential treatment and affirmative action programs areinherently unfair to those who aren’t given a specialboost.

■ Forcing people together in every setting doesn’t work andwill immediately cause more friction.

Approach 3

ational Issues Forums bring together citizens to deliberate and make choices

about challenging social and political issues of the day. They have addressed issues such as theeconomy, education,healthcare,foreign affairs,poverty, and crime.

Throughout the nation, thousands of civic,service,and religious organizations,as well aslibraries, high schools,and colleges, sponsorforums.The sponsoring organizations select topics based on citizens’ concerns,then designand coordinate their own forum programs.

A different kind of talk There is no “typical” forum in length,number

of participants,or frequency. They range fromsmall study circles to large gatherings modeledafter town meetings,but all are different fromeveryday conversations and adversarial debates.

Since forums seek to increase understandingof complicated issues,participants need not start out with detailed knowledge of an issue.Forum organizers distribute issue bookssuch as this one,featuring a nonpartisanoverview of an issue and a choice of sev-eral public responses.By presenting eachissue in a nonpartisan way, forums encourage participants to take a fresh look at the issues and at their own convic-tions.

In the forums,participants share theiropinions,their concerns,and their knowl-edge. With the help of moderators and the issuebooks,participants weigh several possible waysfor society to address a problem.They analyzeeach choice, the arguments for and against it, andthe trade-offs, costs and consequences of thechoice. Moderators encourage participants,as they gravitate to one option or another, toexamine their basic values as individuals and ascommunity members.

Common ground for action In this deliberative practice,participants often

accept choices that are not entirely consistent with their individual wishes and that impose coststhey had not initially considered.This happensbecause NIF forums help people see issues from

different points of view; participants use delibera-tion to discover, not persuade or advocate. Thebest deliberative forums can help participantsmove toward shared,public judgments aboutimportant issues.

Participants may hold sharply different opin-ions and beliefs,but in the forums they discusstheir attitudes, concerns, and convictions abouteach issue and, as a group,seek to resolve theirconflicting priorities and principles.In this way, participants move from making individualchoices to making choices as members of a com-munity — the kinds of choices from which publicaction may result.

Building community through public deliberation

In a democracy, citizens must come together to find answers they can all live with — whileacknowledging that individuals have differingopinions. Forums help people find the areas wheretheir interests and goals overlap.This allows a

public voice to emerge that can give direc-tion to public policy.

The forums are nonpartisan and donot advocate a particular solution to anypublic issue, nor should they be confusedwith referenda or public opinion polls.Rather, the forums enable diverse groupsof Americans to determine together whatdirection they want to take,what kinds ofaction and legislation they favor and what,

for their common good,they oppose.

Moving to actionForums can lead to several kinds of public

action.Generally, a public voice emerges fromforums,and that helps set the government’s com-pass,since forum results are shared with electedofficials each year. Also, as a result of attendingforums,individuals and groups may decide indi-vidually, or with others, to help remedy a publicproblem through citizen actions outside of government.

N

How to start a forumForums are initiated at thelocal level by civic and educational orga n i z a t i o n s .For information about starting a forum and usingour mate r i a l s , w r i te toNational Issues Fo r u mR e s e a rc h , 100 CommonsR o a d , D ay to n , O h i o4 5 4 5 9 - 2 7 7 7 , or call8 0 0 - 4 3 3 - 7 8 3 4 . On theI n te r n e t :h t t p : / / w w w. n i f i.o r g .

W h a t A re N a t i o n a l I s s u e s Fo r u ms?

1. Which statement best describes what you think should be done about racial and ethnic tensions?a. I am not at all sure what should be done.

b. I have a general sense of what should be done.

c. I have a definite opinion about what should be done.

Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Not2. Do you agree or disagree with the statements below? agree agree disagree disagree sure

a. Too many people still see everything through the lens of racial and ethnic discrimination.

b. Special treatment that is based on race or ethnic background is unfair and causes more friction and resentment.

c. The cards are stacked against most people when it comes to unders t a n d i n g ,p re s e r v i n g , and promoting their ethnic culture and its va l u e s .

d. Acting “colorblind” isn’t realistic and doesn’t get us anywhere.

e. In many ways,prejudice and discrimination are as common as ever in housing,education,business, and social settings.

f. As a nation, we are sliding backward on the hard-fought progress made during the civil rights movement and over the last three decades.

3. What else troubles you about problems of racial and ethnic tensions? Please explain.

Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Not4. Do you favor or oppose each of these actions? favor favor oppose oppose sure

a. Set standards for performance and promotion,in school and on the job,that apply to everyone.

b. Insist that English is the one, official language of the United States,in business and the classroom.

c. Provide tax breaks,incentives,and loans to give minority businesses an opportunity to develop and prosper.

d. Allow communities to decide school curricula and textbooks that reflect their values,history, and culture.

e. Strongly attack remaining pra c t i ces in housing and education that separa te people based on ra ce or ethnicity.

f. P rovide more job tra i n i n g ,b e t ter housing, and health care to minorities t h rough government or priva te partners h i p s .

One of the reasons people participate in National Issues Forums is that they want others to know how they feel about an issue and whatthey think should be done.So that we can present reports on your thoughts about the issue, we’d like you to fill out this Pre-ForumQuestionnaire before the forum begins. Your forum moderator will then ask you to fill out the Post-Forum Questionnaire at the end ofthe forum.


5. Are you male or female? Male Female

6. How much schooling have you completed?

Less than 6th grade 6th – 8th grade Some high school High school graduate

Some college College graduate Graduate school

7. Are you:

African-American Asian-American Hispanic Native American White

Other (specify)

8. How old are you?

17 or younger 18 – 29 30 – 49 50 – 64 65 or older

9. Have you attended an NIF forum before? Yes No

10. If “yes”, how many forums have you attended?

1 – 3 4 – 6 7 or more Not sure

11. In which part of the United States do you live?

Northeast South Midwest West

Southwest Other

12. What is your ZIP code? ________________

Please give this form to the forum leader, or mail it to National Issues Forums Research,100 Commons Road, Dayton,Ohio 45459-2777.

N ow that yo u ’ ve had a chance to participate in a forum on this issue, we’d like to know what you are thinking. Your opinions, a l o n gwith those of thousands of others who participated in these forums, will be re f l e c ted in a summary report that will be available to all cit-izens,including those who took part in the forums,as well as officeholders,members of the news media,and others in your community.Since we’re interested in whether you h ave changed your mind about certain aspects of the issue, a few of the questions will be the sameas those you answe red earl i e r.

Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Not1. Do you favor or oppose the statements listed below? favor favor oppose oppose sure

a. We should eliminate quotas and special treatment based on racial or ethnic origin, EVEN IF it means discrimination would continue on the job,in schools,and in neighborhoods.

b. We should let people decide when they want to be together and when they don’t, EVEN IF it means there would be more segregation where people live and work.

c. We should finish the job of full integration, EVEN IF that would mean spending more tax money on programs,laws,and enforcement.

Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Not2. Do you favor or oppose each of these actions? favor favor oppose oppose sure

a. In school and on the job,set standards for performance and promotion that apply to everyone.

b. Insist that English is the one,official language of the United States,in business and the classroom.

c. Provide tax breaks,incentives,and loans to give minority enterprises an opportunity to develop and prosper.

d. Allow communities to decide school curricula and textbooks that reflect their values,history, and culture.

e. Strongly attack remaining pra c t i ces in housing and education that separa te people based on ra ce or ethnicity.

f. Provide more job tra i n i n g ,b e t ter housing, and health care to minorities t h rough government or priva te partners h i p s .

Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Not3. Do you agree or disagree with the statements below? agree agree disagree disagree sure

a. Too many people still see everything through the lens of racial and ethnic discrimination.

b. Special treatment that is based on race or ethnic background is unfair and causes more friction and resentment.

c. The cards are stacked against most people when it comes to unders t a n d i n g ,p re s e r v i n g , and promoting their ethnic culture and its va l u e s .

d. Acting “colorblind”isn’t realistic and doesn’t get us anywhere.

e. In many ways,prejudice and discrimination are as common as ever in housing, education,business,and social settings.

f. As a nation, we are sliding backward on the hard-fought progress made during the civil rights movement and over the last three decades.


4. Which statement best describes what you think should be done about racial and ethnic tensions?a. I am not at all sure what should be done.

b. I have a general sense of what should be done.

c. I have a definite opinion about what should be done.

5. What principles or deeply held beliefs should guide our approach to racial and ethnic tensions and divisions? Please explain.

6. Are you thinking differently about the issue of racial and ethnic tensions,now that you have participated in the forum? Yes NoIf yes,please explain.

7. Do you see ways for people to work on this issue that you didn’t see before? Yes NoPlease explain.

8. What,if anything,might you do differently as a result of this forum?

9. What else troubles you about problems of racial and ethnic tensions? Please explain.

10. What is your ZIP code? ________________

Please give this form to the forum leader, or mail it to National Issues Forums Research,100 Commons Road,Dayton,Ohio 45459-2777.

National Issues Forums Researchwww.nifi.org

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