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Tuesday, February 19, 2002
Community Forum
What they're saying: Comments from Metro Detroiters
By The Detroit News
 "We're going to have to start teaching history about what happened to minorities in this country. I came to the forum because you are either part of problem or part of the solution."
Thomas Wilson
Detroit
 "People feel more comfortable with people they have things in common with. That can be bad and that can be good."
Harold Torbert
West Bloomfield Township
 "I want to get more information, a different perspective and different ideas as to what we can do as a community to move along. Diversity affects everyone in the workplace, no matter where you are ... in the workplace, at school, in the grocery store."
Angela Corsi
Farmington Hills
 "A lot of segregation comes out of ignorance; we make assumptions about people that may or may not be true. There is no segregation among children -- until we project our feelings on them."
Stephen Grady
Oak Park
 "Diversity workshops are good, but if you meet people and get to know them in a nonthreatening situation ... it touches your heart in a different way."
Elizabeth Atkins Bowman
Detroit
 "I don't know if racial segregation, in itself, is a bad thing. I'm more concerned with what I call economic segregation."
Rochelle Black
Troy
 "If business owners can understand the value of diversity, they can open up new economic frontiers."
Laura Moseley
Detroit
 "A lot of people have ideas about how businesses can help end segregation. The question is, though, will we be able to implement them? Can we put it into practice? I hope we can. I hope it catches on."
Rodney Williams
Lathrup Village
 "Our local governments and regional governments have failed to build a transportation system that unites us. ... Government has a role, for better or worse, and so far all we've seen is the worse."
Judy Bonior
Mt. Clemens
 "Government's role is pretty minimal. Until people decide to do the correct thing, the problem will continue."
Vincent Rose
Detroit
 "This country was the only country that didn't go to (last year's United Nations conference on racism.) Until the federal government admits there's a problem, nothing we do locally will matter."
Raymond Kanar
Warren
"Companies have talked a long time about diversity, but very little gets addressed. I feel businesses have a tremendous opportunity to promote it."
Rachel Evans
Clarkston
 "We need to have an honest discussion with parents. They need to understand they need to send kids to school ready to learn. Parents need to be educated about what that takes."
Deborah Wardell
Lathrup Village
 "Fighting racism is a lifelong endeavor. That's part of the reason I'm here. The idea that we wait for change to come to us is a big mistake."
Carol Cook
Howell
 "If parents from the suburbs were to think that Detroit has a good reputation, they'd be more likely to send their children to school. The schools really need to improve their reputation."
Keith White
River Rouge
 "Parents at home need to be educated, but the school has to make up the difference when they don't, or pay later."
Tony Munoz
Redford
 "We need to start listening to youths and stop thinking that our way is necessarily the best way. It's a very different day and time."
Lynese Davis
Detroit
 "If we hope to integrate schools, we have to integrate the faculty. Sometimes I think we make assumptions about a teacher's ability to teach based on their race. I applied to teach in Detroit schools and didn't even get a response."
Michelle Curtiss
Royal Oak
 "Women, especially women who are religious leaders, have a huge role to play. We're not as competitive as men, and we can play a role in unifying our communities."
Tracy Smith Hall
West Bloomfield Township
 "We need to take the torch and speak out in our circles. At some point in time, our circles will touch... ."
Michael Davis
Westland
 "Religions need to teach their members about other religions. If they don't teach them, then things like Sept. 11 happen and people tell us to go back to where we came from."
Nabeela Khan
Sterling Heights
 "People tend to segregate themselves along cultural and ethnic lines. It's not always sinister."
Brian Pannebecker
Shelby Township
 "We've gotten comfortable in our segregation, and we don't know how to move forward."
Alicia Warren
Detroit
 "I view the struggle for integration and equality as a relay race ... . My job is not to drop the baton that has been handed to me and to equip my 9-year-old daughter to run the next lap."
Thomas Malcolm Olson
Troy
 "Leaders in the suburbs and Detroit need to ... create a process where children's parents don't teach them prejudice."
Aleta Runey
Detroit
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