Sunday, April 22, 2001
Hard issues are political - and personal
By Richelle Thompson
The Cincinnati Enquirer
So what are we going to talk about?
There are the usual key topics of housing, education and police policy, city leaders and citizens say.
But we must have courage, they add, to ask other honest, raw questions that get at the heart of our prejudice and perceptions.
Why do whites lock their car doors when they see a black person on the street? Why do blacks let their kids stay out late at night?
Why have so many whites fled to the suburbs? Why do some blacks stay in run-down neighborhoods?
Why are we so afraid of each other?
Successful communication will move people from common, surface conversations into “those things we've always wanted to know but have been afraid to ask,” says Dr. Fannie L. Brown, executive director of The Coming Together Project in Akron.
A gathering of citizens organized by The Cincinnati Enquirer was prompted to ask those oft-unasked questions. White lawyer Trey Daly asked: “Why do black folk drink out of brown paper bags? Why do they stand on the street corners? Why aren't they home taking care of their families?”
Moderator Eric Ellis filled the stunned silence. This is the type of genuine and curious question that helps people to understand each other, that digs deep into the roots of how we view one another, he told the group. Instead of reacting with anger, people in the room tried to frankly address the questions.
As the dialogue of race relations continues throughout the community, blacks face a challenge of discerning between whites asking legitimate questions and those who are demonstrating racial insensitivity, Mr. Ellis says. His West Chester firm, Integrity Development, conducts diversity training across the country.
People need to consider if they truly value diversity and want integration or if they prefer to continue to live in racial isolation, says Karla Irvine, executive director of Housing Opportunities Made Equal.
They need to question why they're afraid to live next door to one another, she says, and why so many people show up at city council meetings when a mixed or low-income development is proposed in their neighborhoods.
The city has to address education and look at the underlying reasons behind predominantly black schools regularly scoring low on tests and having high drop-out rates, Ms. Irvine says.
For Burr Robinson, executive director of Jobs Plus Network in Over-the-Rhine, a major question is an internal conversation.
People need to ask: “Where am I wrong? What do I need to do to change my attitude about the people around me?,” Mr. Robinson says. “Sometimes we look inside ourselves and don't see as pretty of a picture as we'd like.”
Mr. Robinson says churches should ask tough questions about their missions. Are they serving God's purpose and reaching out to their neighbors? Are Christian churchgoers doing what Jesus would do?
The Rev. Damon Lynch Jr. says churches must stop talking about being tolerant and start discussing how to be fully inclusive. The term tolerance breeds a sense of superiority, he says. Inclusion indicates all people will be treated equally.
Cecil Thomas, executive director of the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission, says area residents wonder if the city has purposefully built highways and freeways to go around the problems of the inner city. Suburban residents can take the highway to their downtown jobs and return home without ever having to see rundown buildings in Over-the-Rhine.
He says people need to consider: “Have we been selfish in the way we live in Cincinnati? Have we been hoodwinked into believing that we're the most liveable city? Have we talked about (the problems) in our boardrooms, but failed to act on it because we decided it wasn't our problem?”
Differences impede honest discussion
Frank talk across the racial divide
Guidelines for discussing race in Cincinnati
Hard issues are political - and personal
'African-American': pride to some, division to others
Akron program brings groups face-to-face
