Last June, President Clinton launched what he called a national dialogue on race relations. He stated that the new initiative was needed to lessen racial tensions. The President appointed an advisory board that has spent the last 11 months holding town meetings as part of their effort to reach that goal.
On April 14, 1998, President Clinton held a town-hall meeting in Houston that focused on race and politics. He used the town-hall-meeting format to examine the role of sports as an analogy to expanding access and opportunity in society.
Does anyone really care? Well the people of Galveston, Texas have listened to the President and so far have had three town meetings. The focal point was Clinton's original topic - race relations. Many of the several hundred residents gathered recalled the first meeting that was conducted by the University of Texas Medical Branch. Some also remembered that the second meeting was sponsored by the Galveston Daily News and drew more than two hundred people.
The third such town meeting on race relations, sponsored by the Galveston Baptist Ministers Association and the local chapter of the NAACP, also had over two hundred people in attendance. Across the country, other town hall meetings drew together people with different ethnic backgrounds to discuss an issue facing America. It will not go away. Is dialogue the answer? Is it the cure? No, but it's a step in the right direction.
That was yesterday. What about now? What happened at UTMB? Are they still meeting? What about the Galveston Daily News? Was their forum conducted just to show some community involvement? What about the Baptist Ministers Association and the NAACP? Where are they? Some would argue that their responsibilities are from a higher calling. There are some people that wish this subject will just go away, but it will not fade, not even the Kappa Beach Party, although many Galveston residents wish it would. Martin Luther King III, called on all students across the nation to stand up and "Do Something."
A recent Gallup poll reported that the idea of the initiative on race relations divides the country along racial lines. By a margin of 54% to 43%, Whites are inclined to say such an initiative is not needed, while non-Whites say it is needed, by a margin of 59% to 35%. The Gallup poll further stated. "A major factor in Whites' view about the race initiative is their assessment of the current state of race relations in the country. Whites are about evenly divided on this issue: 39% say race relations are good, while 37% say they are bad. Another 22% take a middle position; saying race relations are neither good nor bad. Whites who take the most optimistic view oppose a new race initiative by 65% to 32%, while Whites that say race relations are bad, support the race initiative by 58% to 40%. Those who hold the middle view oppose the initiative by a 60% to 37% margin. Feelings about the state of race relations in the country among non-Whites, however, have little impact on their views about a new race initiative. Their overall rating is more pessimistic, with 52% saying the state of race relations is bad, and just 27% saying good. But even those with the most optimistic view express majority support for a new race initiative."
The Race Relations Committee is still meeting with representation from two clergymen, Shiloh A.M.E. Church, a member of the NAACP, African-American Chamber, Galveston College, a local police sergeant, business leaders, GISD, Hispanic representation and other community leaders. The committee has also adopted the slogan, "Galveston - an island of diversity." They are also planning on some events and announcements that would hopefully bridge the racial barriers to bring us closer together as a community.
Get involved. You can still make a difference.