In the changing landscape of Black America, much remains the same, experts say

A group of research scientists, staff members, students and their families from the Institute for Social Research (ISR) joined together Jan. 18 for a bus tour through Detroit's scarred but still proud urban landscape.

Among the group who stopped downtown at the former Campus Martius, now Cadillac Square, were President Mary Sue Coleman and her husband, Ken. Like much of the city, the site where Martin Luther King Jr. first delivered his "I Have A Dream" speech was a study in stark contrastspart of the place torn down, part filled with impressive new buildings and equally impressive historical edifices erected early in the last century. Organized by sociologist Reynolds Farley, co-author of "Detroit Divided," the bus tour was the first of two recent ISR events to honor King.

"Detroit is a prism for both hope and despair," ISR Director David L. Featherman said a few days later as he opened the Jan. 29 symposium titled "The Changing Landscape of Black America." In introductory remarks, psychologist James S. Jackson noted that King "would be appalled at the continuing racial disparities in health, wealth and education, and at continuing patterns of racial segregation."

Farley followed, reviewing some of the many significant racial events and trends of the last decade, from the debate surrounding the 1991 Supreme Court nomination of Clarence Thomas to the dramatic increase in interracial marriage. Farley speculated that the most important factor affecting Blacks in America may turn out to be the economic expansion that "lifted all boats" during the 1990s. "Blacks still lag far behind whites in most economic and social indicators," he said. "But the gains made in the recent past have been significant."

Reflecting on the near future, Wayne State University political scientist Ronald Brown was less optimistic in his assessment of the challenges facing Detroit's Black churches. Historically, many Black churches have made grassroots political organizing part of their mission, he noted. But with major public reductions in funding for social services the community badly needs, Brown noted that Black clergy are struggling to decide whether to continue putting their resources into political activism or pursue funding for social servicesfrom some of the same political sources they traditionally have criticized.

U-M political scientist Vincent Hutchings wrapped up the symposium with findings from his ongoing study of the role race plays in political campaign communications.

"Americans are conflicted about race, and political parties take advantage of this," Hutchings said, "creating 'coded' language to link issues, groups and parties." This coded languagesuch as saying "urban" instead of "Black"works to "prime" or activate race-relevant attitudes, he explained. But in order to be effective, this racial priming has to be subtle enough to operate "below the radar," he said. That allows the political party running the ad to deny its racial undertones, and also avoids offending voters. "The norms of tolerance and diversity are strong enough today that most voters will resist overt messages stigmatizing minority groups," Hutchings said.

A lively question-and-answer session, followed by a reception at the Top of the I, closed the symposium, which was jointly sponsored by the ISR, the ISR Research Center for Group Dynamics, the ISR Diversity Committee, the LSA Department of Psychology, and the U-M Center for Afroamerican and African Studies.

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