In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

In 1991, I found myself increasingly troubled by the view expressed in some circles that good race relations were almost entirely the responsibility of white people.With that in mind, Jack Newfield and I set out to interview a cross section of black leadership in America.We chose eight individuals from various walks of life—Jesse Jackson, Mary Francis Berry, Roger Wilkins, John Lewis, Charles Rangel, Sterling Johnson,Arthur Ashe, and Harry Belafonte.When we were done, Penthouse devoted a full twenty-two pages to our findings.The interviews appear here in full for the first time. Many things have changed in the decades since then.The presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush are long gone. Barack Obama is now president of the United States. But I find it disheartening how many of the issues we discussed in 1991 remain unresolved. 1991 Introduction to “Confronting Racism” Ever since the first slave ship docked in 1619, race relations have been America’s special torment. Now we are experiencing a tale of two cities.This is the best of times and the worst of times; a season of light and a season of darkness; a time of hope and a time of despair. More black Americans hold political office than ever before. A black man is governor ofVirginia. NewYork, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, and Seattle have all elected black mayors. Philadelphia , Mississippi—where Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and James Chaney were murdered during a 1964 voter registration drive— now has a black congressman. General Colin Powell is chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. Bill Cosby is a television superstar. More blacks have entered the middle class than ever before, as doctors and lawyers in suburban homes. Yet at the same time, an increasing number of black Americans live in poverty.The life expectancy for a black male born in Harlem is shorter REFLECTIONS 47 than that of a child born in Bangladesh. Black income is half that of whites. Blacks still suffer from discrimination at the hands of banks, unions,and real-estate developers.The pathology of crime,drugs,and broken families has created a permanent inner-city underclass.Recent studies show that 23 percent of all black American men in their twenties are incarcerated, on probation, or on parole. The leading cause of death among black men between the ages of eighteen and thirty-four in this country is homicide. For some, the glass is half-full. For others, it is half-empty. Reality has become a Rorschach test perceived differently by black and white. Events like the trial of Washington, D C, mayor Marion Barry, the rape of a jogger in Central Park, the claim of rape by Tawana Brawley, the death of Yusef Hawkins in Bensonhurst, and other racially charged incidents have underscored this differing perception as a measure of America’s racial polarization. Whites can’t imagine black anger and suffering. Blacks can’t imagine white fear and resentment. Blacks say racism leads to crime.Whites say crime leads to racism. We have come through slavery, the Civil War, the civil rights movement of the 1960s; and still our racial dilemma is unresolved.And if the 1980s were a decade of greed, many fear that the 1990s will be a decade of further polarization and racial violence. In an effort to confront this dilemma, we set out to interview a crosssection of America’s black leadership. Our goal was to listen and learn; to get a perspective on racism, its causes, and its cures.The eight men and women we interviewed are part of history and have a profound sense of history.Their views on racism in America are important for all of us to hear and understand. 48 THOMAS HAUSER ...

Share