Forum on race in Little Rock

Last night I attended an outstanding forum on race here in Little Rock.

Here were a few of the nuggets from the conversation:

-- We must be deliberate not to move apart from each other as a society. Think schools, churches, housing options, business deals.

--We are more the same than we are different.

--If we want to make a difference, we can't just have private compassion. We must have public action.

--Soft power is a better change agent than hard power:
::::::hard power is getting people to do what you want
::::::soft power is getting people to want what you want

--TV and movies perpetuate racism in innocent children who might not otherwise discover it

--"1957 is still palpable in Little Rock" - civil rights and Little Rock Nine historian

--Realtors can do a lot to help stop the segregating of neighborhoods, "white flight", etc. Realtors' suggestions to buyers are powerful - they can nudge society to come together instead of drift apart.

--70% of African-American children are born out of wedlock. We have got to step up and start taking care of children who are not our own.

--Lastly, there's the topic of "authentic blackness" and "authentic whiteness" and how it impacts choices and behaviors. This is something I'll have to think a lot more about. Maybe in another post...

Headline we didn't want to see

In the New York Times today, front page above the fold:
50 Years Later, Little Rock Can’t Escape Race

Tonight, I attended an outstanding forum on the issue of race in Little Rock. I'll post some key thoughts tomorrow.