Show qi’ji 'iiwrb 'V'li'i rff Will tomorrow be less tense? Not unless the pie gets bigger and everyone gets smarter Race relations won’t improve any time soon and probably will get worse — that is the gtum assessment of readers and opinion leaders Overall 70 of leaders see Tea years froa sow 411 there he more less or the same amouat of tensioa betweea mlaorftiac and racial tensions increasing or holding steady by 2000 Vhites are more likely to see trouble among minority groups minorities are more likely to foresee trouble with whites These findings cut across most categories Only white leaders expect less tension between minorities and whites Are they insulated or just optimistic? “If the economy sT NEWSMAKERS READERS Toaaloa among minority groapa? stronger and reflects greater economic justice and there is strong moral leadership from the president then there will be less tension- - If economic injustice continues then tensions will increase It’s doubtful things will remain the same” — Jesse Jackson “shadow senator” is NEWSMAKERS REAPERS District of Columbia black 49 “When I was growing up Puerto Rican in New York it was like West Side Story Really stratified — a lot of confrontation Now it’s a very different attitude There are still problems but I think there have “The tensions will become increasingly open unless we learn to devalue race as the criterion ofworth” — C Eric Lincoln 66 professor of religion Duke University black 66 been some very profound differences” — Sally Hernandez Pinero deputy mayor New York City Hispanic 38 “I think you will find more people ‘mainstreaming’ without forgetting who they are and where they come from You keep your values and your culture and your roots in place but you adapt more to life’s realities And life’s realities are that we live in a diverse society So I see the year 2000 with a lot of hope I have a positive feeling about it At least I’m going to make it happen!” — Maria Elena Torano head of company nt META Inc Hispanic 53 tensions are growing partly between blacks and Hispanics but also between blacks and Asians Part of it is prejudice based on ignorance Part of it is competition for resources and attention Part of it is that racism affects everybody We have to understand it is not a virus that attacks just white Anglo-Saxon Protestants but a virus that attacks Hispanics blacks and Asians It wasn’t relevant to talk about black prejudice against Asians or Hispanics till blacks had power Now blacks can really manifest power It’s got to be brought out into the open It’s been quite a secret something nobody wants to own up to” — Raul Yzaguirre president National Council of La Raza Hispanic 50 “Inter-minori- ty “Minority racism against white people is growing because of affirmative action forced integration crime and things like that Forced busing has brought 22 USA WEEKEND U-i- 1991 ‘The tension is at a very high level now and I can’t imagine it getting worse I think it s sort of healthy that there’s more black tension against whites rather than the kind of inner-directtension of the past where the black community would set its own community on fire The black presence is becoming threatening to the white power class That fear may motivate us to reach out and help rather than just blaming” self-destructi-ve ed — Felice Schwartz president of Catalyst “mommy track” researcher white 66 up a whole generation of young whites and young blacks who are very angry at each other” — David Duke Louisiana state representative white 41 “In Los Angeles we have a huge problem between Asians and Latinos I think they’ve kind of invaded each other’s neighborhoods and they don’t understand each other’s culture There’s never been any attempt to educate people about different groups” — Michelle Phillips singer-actrewhite 46 ss C3 ELI tZ “Whites arc getting more brazen about speaking against minorities They don’t just speak to their friends anymore they’re confrontational I am very much a part of the Indian community I don’t generally socialize with whites but I bowl in the same league in suburban Washington DC with white people and they often say things about blacks in front of me because they don’t view me as they view black people They feel freer about expressing themselves in front of me about racial attitudes” — Mitchell Bush head of Tribal Enrollment Services US Bureau of Indian Affairs American Indian 55 “Some minority groups scream before they’re even hurt which irritates the majority It feels like it’s being pushed down your throat if you’re white I thought for a while in the ’60s and 70s we were improving — but boy have I seen us reverting!” — Reader Nunzia Rametta retired civil servant Morris ville VL white 58 “If the underclass of blacks and Hispanics continues to grow it will increase the tensions among all groups The resulting upheavals might make the Watts riots of long ago seem like child’s play” — Antonio Rigual president Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities Hispanic 44 “With the population expanding people are sort of themselves becoming more tribal and ‘ghetto-izin- g’ in their own ways It’s just going to get worse” — Jane Alexander actress white 51 Photograph by James McGoon |