"We didn't anticipate the nation would be so focused on race. The topic of race relations is clearly on the minds of Americans," Williams said at the panel discussion presentation.
Winter, who was chosen by Clinton to serve on the president's advisory board on race, said that while race relations have improved considerably since his days as a youth growing up in Mississippi, "We still have a long way to go".
"One of the things we have to do is overcome the stereotypes we have of each other. It's a problem of education," said Winter, who stressed that whites, in particular, have to understand how past discrimination has hampered the progress of African Americans in American society. He cited the example of Mississippi public schools, which are struggling to prepare Black students for college.
"What we found in looking at the problems of higher education in Mississippi is the historically poor quality of education in the K through twelve [kindergarten through twelfth grade] system for Blacks," he said. "We have to make up for years of neglect to level the playing field for everyone."
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is a Washington, D.C.-based national, nonpartisan organization that conducts research on public policy issues of interest to African Americans.
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