Interesting PBS program last night: Koppel leading a Town Meeting in Jaspar, Texas. This is where in 1998 a black man was dragged by a truck to his death, by three white men. I missed the beginning of the program, but gathered that the whites have now been sentenced to death.
The Town Meeting was about the state of racism in Jaspar. Generally, both blacks and whites asserted that things were better since the murder, as the town had been shocked and had taken steps to bring people together. But within that context, the division of views between blacks and whites was evident: even now, whites think there is less racism than do blacks. Several speakers started to get into this question at a sufficient depth to provide the basis for a genuine conversation and learning, but Koppel, preoccupied with the Town Meeting process and TV schedule, cut it off prematurely. A white sheriff who said 'I've learned much', several black and white kids who said 'our generation is color blind; its our parents who are racist', a white woman who said it was time to 'move on', a black minister who said 'how can we move on when whites haven't even apologized for anti-black bigotry' -- all of this could have been grist for a fascinating and effective discussion. Koppel does a wonderful job convening these Town Meetings (the best I ever saw was in Jerusalem, with Palestinians and Israelis), and what he did here provided a good foundation for a breakthrough conversation. Perhaps we need more breakthrough conversations, and I can see us having one on the future of work. But where and how? Best regards, Lawry > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Friday, January 24, 2003 4:55 AM > To: Ray Evans Harrell; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Brian McAndrews; > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [Futurework] FWD: The King They Still Won't Talk About > > > Thanks Lawry and Ray. Your 'particles of truth' have certainly enhanced > mine. Obviously a critical difference between King and Malcolm was their > stance on the use of violence to end apartheid in America. > Ray mentioned Bobby and John Kennedy and that reminded me of the song > "Abraham, Martin and John" (and Bobby and Malcolm). > > Too much killing, > Take care, > Brian > _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
