THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 31, 1995 TAG: 9512290551
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
Folks talk about it before the City Council, at school board meetings, in their best friends' homes: Racial tensions are causing problems in this city.
They'll talk about it in public forums and with neighbors. But citizens here seem to have trouble getting beyond the rhetoric to make real improvements.
Three years ago, the City Council said that promoting racial harmony was among its top goals.
The council created the Cultural Diversity Action Committee, asking it to seek ways to solve the problems. The council and the panel adopted an innovative national program, ``Face to Face with Race,'' designed to bring people together in small study circles where they would delve into stereotypes, tensions, truths and potential solutions.
The study groups were supposed to lead Portsmouth on a more enlightened path, featuring open discussions and understanding about race. The goal was to have 1,000 citizens complete the program in the first year.
Instead, the study circles have received lukewarm acceptance and sparse participation. Fewer than 60 people finished the first year.
Meanwhile, racial discord has continued over issues such as construction of the new I.C. Norcom High School, the city's Vision 2005 plan for the Effingham Street corridor and school board elections.
No one's sure why the study circles attracted so little support.
Some suggest that churches and neighborhood groups needed to take more active interest. Others contend that the City Council should have been more involved.
The few participants have become frustrated.
``I think you have to be open to it,'' Loretta Schumacher, a black participant, told her study circle while discussing why more people weren't involved. ``You have to have your heart open to what's being discussed. We can take it to their door, and if they're not ready, they're not going to accept it.''
Sharon Saylor, who is white and facilitated the group out of her Shea Terrace home, said institutions also were part of the problem. ``We can't seem to get it into the churches,'' she said.
``That's because we can't get it into the pulpits, and that's where it belongs,'' agreed Dr. Max C. King, a retired African-American physician. ``The churches are the most segregated places. Just go to one on Sunday morning, and you'll see what I mean.''
In another study circle, Carlton Carrington said: ``The goals are clear, they're just not being supported . . . People here want the leaders to be involved and to participate in this.''
Mayor Gloria O. Webb acknowledges that the council backed away after setting the program in motion and assigning a staff member to the project. She says council members found it difficult to attend sessions when they had so many other priorities, including the Vision 2005 economic development plan.
Some study circles - including one matching a black church with a white church - fell apart after the first meetings. No churches completed the program.
``I thought churches would be one of the best places to get this started - we're serving the same God,'' said Velma Hinnant, an early participant and facilitator.
Circle discussions turned up a variety of fears that deter participation. The most prevalent fear is of frank discussions. People are afraid of what they might hear and how they will react.
It's tough stuff, and sometimes people in the study groups feel that they've had their toes stepped on. Yet, they also learn to appreciate other viewpoints.
Carrington suggested that study circles may thrive only in response to immediate crises.
``There hasn't been a crisis, so some people will just go around saying there's not really a problem,'' he said. ``Others have such deep resentments, they're not going to participate no matter what.''
But Matt Leighninger, program manager for the Study Circles Resource Center in Connecticut, downplayed the need for crises. It's more a matter of how people hear of the program and whether they believe it can make a difference in race relations, he said.
``If you don't know the specifics about how it works, it can be intimidating,'' he said. ``The way we deal with public issues so often is divisive.''
For that reason, Leighninger said, it's important for people to learn about study circles from those they trust. Churches and neighborhood groups are especially important, he said.
KEYWORDS: HAMPTON ROADS ROUNDTABLE RACE RELATIONS by CNB