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Panelists' advice: Confront racism
By MOLLY MOORHEAD HUDSON -- Springstead High School student Brandon Gary, a 16-year-old with a friendly face and a flair for comedy, said other black kids treat him like he's different. Gary said he's been accused of "acting white" and "sounding white." "I've got, like, three black friends," Gary said Sunday night during a forum on racism. "That's it. The rest of them won't touch me." Gary was one of eight panelists at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church on County Line Road participating in the forum "Challenging Racism and Improving Race Relations." The panel also included elected officials, professionals and members of the clergy from Pasco and Hernando counties. About 40 people attended the event; only a handful were white. The panel discussed what to do when racism is encountered, possible ways to improve race relations and the need for education. Gary seems to have found a solution, at least in his own social circle. "I talk to everybody," he said. "That's how I deal with it." Walter Dry, chairman of the Human Rights Commission in Hernando, said this part of Florida is particularly regressive in terms of race relations. "It's like me moving back 20 years in time," said Dry, who has investigated equal rights complaints around the country for the Department of Veterans Affairs. "It's like everything is at a standstill." But he emphasized that changes will come when people have the courage to confront racism when they encounter it in their daily lives. "(Silence) sends a message that you're condoning it," Dry said. The Rev. Dwight Wolter, pastor of Spring Hill United Church of Christ, offered two simple solutions: breaking bread and telling stories. "Things happen when you share food together," said Wolter, a white minister who in 2000 formed a partnership and traded pulpits with the Rev. Freddie Hinson Jr., the black pastor of New Hope. Wolter said many white people have black friends or admire black celebrities but have racist attitudes toward black people in general. But by sharing stories, those attitudes can be dispelled. "You don't have to educated, you don't have to be eloquent," he said. Wolter rebuked the St. Petersburg Times for only recently naming a black person to its board of directors. "It's disgraceful," he said. The media, he said, should be first to encourage diversity and help race relations. Pasco County Commissioner Peter Altman noted Pasco has one of the smallest African-American populations in Florida but that racism remains a problem. "I have seen it, and I have heard it. I know it's out there," he said. Hernando County Commissioner Nancy Robinson said she wants to see more minorities become active in local government. "Change happens when people care enough to get involved," Robinson said. Ruth Lansing, a new member of New Hope who is white, told the panel and audience that it is the first church she's been to that addressed the issue of race. "They need to commingle," she said of segregated churches. With tears in her eyes, Lansing said she feels like New Hope is her family, despite her position as a minority in the predominantly black church. "We're all the same," she said. "The skin color's different, but we're all the same inside." -- Molly Moorhead can be reached at (352) 521-5757, ext. 29 or toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6108, then 29. Her e-mail address is moorhead@sptimes.com .
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From today's Pasco Times |
