DI: You wrote a chapter in your new book with a White woman friend. What did you learn from each other?
BT: Some of my best friends are cross-racial friendships, and one of the main obstacles between such friendships is how to talk about race and the difficulty many people have.
DI: Why is it so difficult?
BT: People have a lot of anxiety about it because it’s a heated topic. For example, [U.S. Sen.] Joe Biden was trying to say something nice about [U.S. Sen.] Barack Obama and fell into a common problem when Whites talk about African-Americans. He’s “articulate,” “smart,” and it sounded like “Isn’t this
a surprise?”
DI: Even in diverse environments, many groups self-segregate. What can colleges and universities do to address this?
BT: I don’t even like the term “self-segregate.” Kids group together on common lines of interest and experience. If Hispanic kids want to sit together and speak in their mother tongue, that shouldn’t bother anyone, but they should have the same opportunity to meet other kids.
DI: Why don’t you like the term “self-segregate?”
BT: My decision to sit with kids who I share things in common with is not the same as legalized imposition of segregation.
— By Christina Asquith
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
