Tuesday, February 19, 2002

Donna Terek / The Detroit News Keith Davis of Detroit expresses his point of view during the forum, which allowed participants a chance to speak honestly and candidly about race relations.

Community
Perceptions shape racism
Dialogue, cultural sharing can bridge gap

By Oralandar Brand-Williams / The Detroit News

Donna Terek / The Detroit News Aleta Runey, left, of Detroit was among more than 50 participants at the forum to discuss how communities can improve race relations. With her is Linda Jamerson of Detroit. Community excerpts    Dan Krichbaum addressed why breaking down barriers to integration is important to communities. Dan Krichbaum, executive director of the Metro Detroit chapter of the National Conference for Community and Justice    * "Separate can never be equal. We decided that back in 1954 in terms of our schools but we've reversed that in a lot of peoples' thinking. They think that if separate is equal, but separate can't be equal... Youngsters who grow up in the segregated school system do not have an equal opportunity when they go to college, when they go out into the workforce, when they're sent to Germany or South Africa or Egypt."    * "I think that one cost that we hardly ever talk about is the psychic cost of segregation. There has always been a psychic cost for minorities although most people from an Asian American or African American or Hispanic background, they've gotten over that cost. But in the white community, most whites have never addressed the psychic cost of segregation. Most whites still feel uncomfortable if they live in a neighborhood that is predominantly Arab American or predominantly African American. Most whites still feel uncomfortable if they are in a work or social situation where they are in a minority."    * "I think a lot of our leadership in this area is really asleep at the wheel. I think much leadership in the educational community, in the religious community, in the business community, although I must say the business community has been far ahead of some of our other communities, and the local leadership in individual communities would rather have this problem ignored, than deal with it openly and forthrightly." Does mass transit have a role? Is improving Metro Detroit's mass transit system a worthwhile common goal for local governments in Southeast Michigan? Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

   The absence of a mass transit system, a lack of understanding between city and suburban residents and negative perceptions of Detroiters contribute to the dogged racial divide in Metro Detroit, said participants at The Detroit News/WDIV forum on segregation Monday.
   For many forum participants -- more than 50 of whom came to talk specifically about improving communities -- it was a chance to speak honestly and candidly about race relations.
   Euni Rose, a white Southfield resident, said part of eliminating segregation is convincing Metro Detroit whites that they need not fear large groups of blacks.
   "Lately when I've been going into the Star Southfield theater and then going into the Volcano Grill restaurant I notice my husband and I are the only white people in there. ... It's the same thing with Northland Mall," said Rose. "White people have this perception. ... What are we going to do? Tell the white people this is a safe theater, a safe restaurant, a safe mall?
   "None of this is going to change unless we change the perceptions."
   According to an analysis of 2000 Census data, Metro Detroit is the most racially segregated metropolitan region in the country when it comes to blacks and whites.
   "The racism has spawned from outside the city of Detroit," said longtime Detroit resident Valerie Kindle, a community activist. "(Suburbanites) regard Detroit in a negative light most of the time."
   Kindle, a 50-year-old mother of two sons, said she believes racism is more a problem in northern areas of the country like Metro Detroit than in the South.
   "People smile in your face here and then cut you off at the legs," Kindle said. "We need to continue the dialogue, and perhaps in our grandchildren's time we will see progress."
   Dorothy Montgomery, another Detroit resident, said blacks and whites need to deal with one another more on a personal level.
   "We always want to blame other ethnic groups, but sometimes we don't like ourselves," said Montgomery, an African American.
   "I am accepting of a person for who you are, not because the courts tell me I have to be," said Montgomery. "If I like you, I like you because of your character ... your personality traits."
   For Plymouth resident David Robillard, some of the problems of racial segregation stem from the lack of cultural sharing among Metro Detroit's residents.
   "Suburban communities might want to start hosting different ethnic festivals," suggested Robillard. "People will notice this person isn't that bad and that they have the same wants and desires."
   "We don't have that dialogue and that kind of discussion," Robillard said. "Experience is the way to get over it (racial isolation)."

Key points
   * Communities should seek a regional partnership to look at implementing a mass-transit system for Metro Detroit.
   * The state should look at improving public school districts for all students in Metro Detroit.
   * Residents, community leaders and government officials should seek ways to change attitudes of suburbanites toward Detroiters.
   * Detroit and county officials should seek funding to help re-build Detroit's infrastructure in order to build homes and attract new residents.
   * City officials should work harder to reduce crime in Detroit.
   * Metro Detroit government officials and police departments should find more effective ways to attack, in hopes of ending, racial profiling.
   

Oralandar Brand-Williams can be reached at (313) 222-2690 or bwilliams@detnews.com.