Gregory Freeman: Race Relations Report Holds Bad, Good News. 10/1/1995

Headline: RACE RELATIONS REPORT HOLDS BAD, GOOD NEWS
Reporter: By Gregory Freeman

Publication: ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Last Printed: Sun., Oct. 1, 1995
Section: NEWS, Page: 05B, Edition: FIVE STAR LIFT

A REPORT THAT came out last month about race relations in St. Louis had bad news and good news:
     The bad news - though hardly news to anyone - was that St. Louis is a very segregated area, where blacks and whites live very separate lives.
     The good news was that St. Louisans, white and black, would like to see that change and believe that, individually, they have the power to improve race relations.
     The report was released by the Metropolitan Diversity Coalition, Confluence St. Louis and the Public Policy Research Centers at the University of Missouri at St. Louis. It was based on an in-depth survey of 1,019 black and white residents of the metropolitan area. It was, in fact, the largest survey of the attitudes of African-Americans ever conducted here.

Most people realize that St. Louis' racial patterns aren't new; segregation has been a way of life here for more years than anyone alive can remember. Clearly, segregation isn't as bad as it was when my mother was a teen-ager. Although black St. Louisans never had to sit at the back of the bus, my mother could never have attended a function at the Fox Theatre, eaten at department store restaurants downtown or enjoyed the privileges that many whites did in those days. Those days, fortunately, are behind us.

But the legacy of official segregation continues today. It's found in our neighborhoods and our churches. Before school desegregation, it was found in our schools. Its pervasiveness surrounds us, and, in some cases, we're too accustomed to it to realize it's here.
In fact, it sometimes takes someone from out of town to see what we can't.
Over the years, I've spoken with various folks, black and white, who have told me that they felt the separation the minute they hit town. To some, it's been an eerie feeling.

For some time, I've had a feeling that more than a few people sense that something's wrong and want to do something personally about the separation.
I was gratified, then, when I read in the survey that more than three-quarters of black and white participants said they supported the view that they had "personal power to improve race relations."

Indeed they do.
     In fact, many examples of segregation are self-imposed. Official segregation has been outlawed, but it continues unofficially. Neighborhoods are mainly white or mainly black, with only a few that are truly mixed.
     If you ever want to get a sense of what apartheid felt like in South Africa, pay a visit to the cafeterias at some desegregated high schools. While students may sit side-by-side in classrooms, many quickly segregate in the lunchrooms.
     They're doing little that's different from what many parents are doing. While many of us work with people of different races, not-so-many of us socialize with such people.

The cry from those who don't socialize with people of different races is often that they want to be with people who share their own interests.
But because two people share the same color doesn't mean they share the same interests. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and I share the same color, for instance. I doubt that we'd find much in common.

What we've learned over the years is that while laws can be placed on the books making segregation illegal - and we most certainly need them there - it's impossible to legislate attitudes.
That's where the work of individuals comes in. Improving race relations in St. Louis - or the world - requires the effort of individual people taking steps, one-on-one, to make a difference. I can't make segregation go away. But I can develop a relationship with a co-worker or someone I know on a more casual basis. I may discover that we share mutual interests.

The Metropolitan Diversity Coalition is meeting individually with corporate leaders, civic organizations and neighborhood groups to encourage them to take efforts to improve race relations.
That's good, but they mustn't forget that individuals make up civic organizations and neighborhood groups. Group efforts are positive, but they're not as powerful as the efforts of individuals.
Good race relations depend on the value we place on our diversity. The sooner we can begin to realize the value that all of us have, the sooner we can begin to create the united spirit of community that we so desperately need.

Daniel Schesch - Webweaver

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