Talking race in the North Country

I report this morning on some very different views about race-relations here in the North Country – and now we want your opinion.

Here’s the context:

Mark Barie, who’s white, argues that it’s time to move past race; JW Wiley, who’s black, says not so fast, there’s more work to be done first.

During the election, I found a lot of racial textures here in the region, interviewing people who held overtly racist views, and people who seemed genuinely uninterested in Barack Obama’s skin color.

The reality, I’m convinced, is that this chalolenge — whites and blacks talking to one-another — is more crucial now than ever.

Yes, our region is largely white, largely rural.

But the politicians shaping our lives (President-elect Obama, Governor Paterson, Senate majority leader Smith) are black and urban.

How will we talk to them about our needs and our aspirations?

How will we discuss things like the Rockefeller drug laws, which in New York have led to a dramatically higher incarceration rate for blacks than whites?

And the fact that we in the North Country benefit economically from those laws, through prison employment?

I hope you’ll chime in. But remember: be respectful. Be constructive.

I know JW Wiley and Mark Barie well. Both are thoughtful, forward-thinking men.

They’ve engaged in this conversation in the hope that it will be a positive force, moving the conversation forward.

We should do the same. Comments welcome below.