Читать книгу Freedom Facts and Firsts - Jessie Carney Smith - Страница 113

Reconciling the races is a challenge that has permeated American society for centuries. There have been many initiatives to eliminate racial disparities over the years. The Center for Living Democracy (CLD) published the report Bridging the Racial Divide: A Report on Interracial Dialogue in America (1997), which explains what is occurring around the country and encourages open lines of communication and increased sensitivity towards interracial groups. The CLD report provides information on groups whose goal is to foster interracial communications and support, such as the Study Circles Resource Center, the Student Coalition Against Racism, and the Houston-based Center for Healing Racism, which are representative examples of what is taking place in America.

The national education project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Teaching Tolerance, publishes the magazine Teaching Tolerance semiannually. Its aim is to support and aid Kindergarten through twelfth-grade teachers and others in promoting diversity. Organizations like the NAACP, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the National Urban League have initiated programs like the Hip-Hop Summer Action Network (HSAN) Summit to promote understanding and collaboration among diverse groups. Russell Simmons and Ben Chavis founded the HSAN Summit, which, among other concerns, focuses on racial equity and empowerment. The Council of Bishops in the United Methodist Church has created dialogues to ascertain what can be done to eradicate racism within the church and the community. There are also groups that focus on bridging racial disparities in education, health issues, and technology. Reports like the CLD’s show the need for these groups in the workplace, school, places of worship, the media, and in entertainment.

In addition to recognition on the part of organizations that there is a need for racial reconciliation, individuals have come to realize that they too can effect change. For example, Tim Wise, an activist and director of the Association for White Anti-Racist Education (AWARE) in Nashville, Tennessee, is the author of Beyond “Diversity “: Challenging Racism in an Age of Backlash and a contributor to White Men Challenging Racism: Thirty-Five Personal Stories. He has lectured and held workshops on such topics as institutional racism, gender bias, and the growing gap between rich and poor in America. Racism, Wise believes, is a problem both whites and nonwhites must work together to solve.

Rabbi Marc Schneier and Joseph Papp are two other people active in bridging the racial gap. They founded the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, which is “committed to the belief that direct face-to-face dialogue between ethnic communities is the most effective path towards the reduction of bigotry and promotion of reconciliation and understanding.” The ongoing work of organizations and individuals such as these indicate that, even though the Civil Rights Movement resulted in laws such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, there remain many racial, ethnic, and religious issues to solve in America.

Helen R. Houston