Gregory Freeman: Searching For Some Good Ideas For Healing Racial Rift. PD 3/16/1997

Headline: SEARCHING FOR SOME GOOD IDEAS ON HEALING THE RACIAL RIFT IN ST. LOUIS
Byline: By Gregory Freeman

Publication: ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Date: Sun., Mar. 16, 1997
Section: NEWS, Page: 2C, Edition: FIVE STAR LIFT

A FEW YEARS AGO, a friend and I got into a discussion about the problem of racial polarization in St. Louis.

The friend, Daniel Schesch, and I agreed that one reason for the polarization here is the housing segregation. Living in one of the nation's most segregated areas when it comes to housing - as pointed out in several national studies - St. Louisans rarely interact with one another socially. We see each other at work or, perhaps, at school. Other than that, though, a majority of us don't socialize with one another. We don't get to a place with each other where we can let our hair down and really discuss what's on our minds and how we perceive the world racially.

Schesch and I thought about this problem for a while and came up with the idea of Bridges, a program to encourage more interaction among people of different races. Through Bridges, we hoped, friendships would develop across racial lines. Our contention was that the easiest way to break down stereotypes and apprehension is for people of different races to get to know one another.
     Toward that end, Schesch and I identified 10 couples, black, white, and Asian, and broke into two groups. Five couples were in my group; the other five were in his.
     We began meeting at each other's homes for dinner, and each of us brought potluck. We'd eat, socialize and discuss the issues of the day. And we'd talk about racial issues. Over time, our inhibitions left us as we got to know one another better, and we were able to have free, robust discussions, sometimes about race, other times about a variety of other issues.
     Schesch and I are still active with Bridges, now sponsored by FOCUS St. Louis. Not only do our two groups still get together, the program has picked up momentum as more people have gotten involved. It's a way for us to have a little impact on the polarization in this community.

Urban experts Neal Peirce and Curtis Johnson -- the two who put together the Peirce Report (which has been running in the Post-Dispatch since last Sunday; the final installment is in this Sunday's paper) - saw the polarization as they studied St. Louis. From their report: "Race pervades every St. Louis regional issue. It feeds the sprawl and all the costs of sprawl as people run from inner-city minorities. It explains the disparities in school funding and the extraordinary percentages of private and parochial school enrollments. It limits the geographic appeal of the new rail system because far-out suburbs don't want too easy a connection to the core."
As the report pointed out, race affects almost every issue in St. Louis. It's a thorny issue that some want to tackle and others would prefer to ignore. To ignore it, however, is to ignore a fire that's burning in the basement. If you don't give it some attention, and soon, before long it will engulf the entire house.

But many people are at a loss as to what to do. They know the fire is burning but don't know how to put it out. Indeed, every time I write about this issue, I get letters from readers who tell me they're frustrated because they want to do something but don't know what to do.
I certainly have no monopoly on knowledge. Schesch and I came up with the Bridges idea, but I'm sure that there are others who are doing things or who have ideas about what people can do to reduce the polarization we face.

Is there something that you're doing now to make a difference in that area? Do you have an idea that you think would be helpful in dealing with racial problems here?
   I'd like to hear from you.
   Write me or send me e-mail at one of the addresses listed below. I'll publish some of the best suggestions here. It's a chance to share your best ideas with your fellow St. Louisans. In return, some of them may repay you with the sincerest form of flattery: imitation.
    I'm looking for ideas here, not gripes. Letters that say things like: "If only those other people would go away or do this or that..." aren't helpful at all.
   I'm looking for good ideas here, the kind that other readers can try as they attempt to deal with our racial problems. As we share ideas with one another, maybe we'll hit upon some exceptionally good ones that, if reproduced over and over, could make a serious dent in the racial polarization here.

Well, don't sit around reading this column all day. Get writing!

Daniel Schesch - Webweaver

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