As we begin the new millenium, the psychological chasm dividing Blacks and Whites in
American society seems, tragically, to be as large and insurmountable as ever. The
growing dissonance between the races has been evident over the past decade in the
conflicting "Black" and "White" perceptions of the O.J. Simpson trial,
in manifestations like the Million Man March; and in recent controversies over
police mistreatment of African-Americans in New York City, Long Island and elsewhere
across the country.
All of this comes at a moment when
efforts to integrate our schools and neighborhoods have receded in the face of widespread
White recalcitrance and a growing trend toward Black separatism. Meanwhile, the
rapid growth of Hispanic and Asian-American populations raises the disturbing
specter of an America balkanized into competing and mutually mistrustful
constituencies.
In fact, all of these issues are but symptoms of a more profound reality;
namely that there i little honest and heartfelt communication across racial and ethnic
lines in America. It is painfully evident, for example, that relations between
Blacks and Whites will only begin to improve when significantly more people from
both sides of the racial divide begin meeting and communicating with each other on a
regular and sustained basis. On a very basic level, people must talk with and listen to
each other if they are to learn to like and trust each other and relate to the pain
that the other feels.
Yet, what Americans need now are not
soothing and superficial encounters in which participants spout empty platitudes
about upholding good will and brotherhood. What is required are more candid and meaningful
dialogues in which people from different racialand ethnic backgrounds speak honestly
about their fears and concerns, while probing some of the hot button issues dividing
our society.
For the past five years, the two of us have been engaged in one such public dialogue. We
have named our program "An American Dialogue: A Unique Discussion Between
a White Jew and a Black Muslim," and have given presentations to
students and faculty, at high schools across Long Island, to educators at an annual
conference on bias reduction on Long Island, as well as to students at the City College of
New York, and in various other venues.
Our public dialogues have taken the form of soul-bearing, and have been frank,
honest and provocative. We have asked each other the questions that Blacks and
Whites, Jews and Muslims often want to ask each other, but shy away from for fear of
being considered bigoted.
Among the issues with which we have
wrestled and invited our audiences to discuss are: attitudes and behaviors that
polarize Blacks, Whites, Jews and Muslims; what Blacks and Whites fear about each
other; what is healthy ethnic pride and when does it become racism; and how to
create understanding and trust between the races and religions in America. While the
two of us speak from our personal experiences, we have found that our message about
the benefits of honest and respectful dialogue has resonance not only for Whites, Blacks,
Jews and Muslims, but for students of Hispanic, Asian-American, and American Indian
heritage as well.
Wherever we have held our dialogue, we have elicited an electric response from our
audiences. High school students have been particularly excited; peppering us with
questions and starting impromptu discussions among themselves about the state of
racial and ethnic relations in their own schools and communities. What usually comes
out during our visits is the realization by students and faculty alike that the
pretense voiced by many at the beginning--that race relations at the school are
generally good--is a sham covering up the fact that Black and White kids almost
invariably sit at separate lunch tables, and have only superficial communication.
This kind of de-facto segregation often manifests itself among Hispanics and
Asian-Americans as well.
We have learned that many Black students consider themselves to be special targets
for suspicion by the police, while nearly all of the White students believe that the
police are suspicious of all adolescents without regard to race. Black students in
majority White schools have maintained that it is difficult for them to succeed as
outsiders in an alien academic environment, while many White students argue that
Blacks are given preferential treatment by teachers and administrators because of
their race.
We have also witnessed the tensions that simmer, and sometimes erupt, between Black and
Jewish students. We were invited into one Long Island high school by a tenth grade
Jewish teacher who was upset when several Black students in her class laughed out loud
during a unit on the Holocaust. During our visit, several of the Black students
expressed the opinion that the Holocaust was not nearly as horrific as was slavery in
America, while Jewish students responded heatedly that the Holocaust was out and out
genocide and that slavery was merely servitude. We were able to get across the
notion that both Blacks and Jews suffered genocidal experiences, and instead
of arguing with each other in a mutually lacerating battle over which experience was
worse, they ought to work together to ensure that nothing like it ever happens again to
any people.
In short, we are convinced that our public dialogue has already had beneficial results
for the several thousand young people and adults who have heard our message.
We believedeeply that the mission we are embarked upon has great potential for
effecting racial, ethnic and religious healing in the future. We are now searching
for foundation funding so that we will be able to devote ourselves to "An
American Dialogue" on a full time basis, and will be able to
offer our program to high schools, universities, and other venues such as large and
small companies at minumum cost or free of charge. With sufficient funding, we will
also be able to expand our program; offering expertise and crisisintervention to
schools on an ongoing basis, and creating ongoing dialogues between students within
individual schools and students in different schools.
After holding a dialogue in a school, we will ask for students interested in starting and
maintaining their own interracial or inter-religious dialogues. We will match up
the students who volunteer, and stay in close touch with them as they conduct their
own one on one dialogues over a period of one or two months. At the conclusion of
this process, we will arrange for these students to make an appearance before
another school assembly and conduct their own public dialogue with us in the role of
facilitators. The idea is to proveto students that interracial and inter-religious
dialogue is something in which they themselves can participate and that it is a process
that is deeply enriching intellectually and emotionally. We believe that several
such student dialogues will trigger a process that will profoundly improve racial
and ethnic relations within a school. We are convinced that the same process can
work in corporate America, and are anxious to begin working in this venue as well.
Our long-term goal is to form a cadre of volunteers to work together with us in addressing
racial, ethnic and religious issues in their schools and communities and to serve a
troubleshooters in the event of bias attacks or of interracial or inter-religious
conflicts. The two of us have formed an organization called Americans for
Justice and Positive Change with the aim of spreading interracial,
inter-ethnic, and inter-religious dialogues across the country.
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