I report this morning on some very different views about race-relations here in the North Country – and now we want your opinion.<\/p>\n
Here’s the context:<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The reality, I’m convinced, is that this chalolenge — whites and blacks talking to one-another — is more crucial now than ever.<\/p>\n
Yes, our region is largely white, largely rural.<\/p>\n
But the politicians shaping our lives (President-elect Obama, Governor Paterson, Senate majority leader Smith) are black and urban.<\/p>\n
How will we talk to them about our needs and our aspirations?<\/p>\n
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?<\/p>\n
And the fact that we in the North Country benefit economically from those laws, through prison employment?<\/p>\n
I hope you’ll chime in. But remember: be respectful. Be constructive.<\/p>\n
I know JW Wiley and Mark Barie well. Both are thoughtful, forward-thinking men. <\/p>\n
They’ve engaged in this conversation in the hope that it will be a positive force, moving the conversation forward.<\/p>\n
We should do the same. Comments welcome below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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