George,

Disclaimer: this commentary is based on personal observations only, not professional sociological studies, and must be interpreted accordingly. I'm curious to receive comments, particularly from minorities.

Could exclusive organizations for minorities in the long run be roadblocks to forming a more integrated and tolerant society?

To my knowledge, no organizations such as the NAACP or "Black Police Officers Association" exist where I live (where France, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium come together and there are a large number of non-European immigrants, particularly from former African colonies, I should add).

Consider this:

Since I've been living in Europe, I've noticed that strong racist beliefs endure, but racial relations, in general, seem to be better than in the States.

For example, a few years ago, I walked into a bar full of white people in Raleigh, NC with some friends, one of whom was black. People stared at us. I also remember a time a few years ago when I went into a fast-food restaurant somewhere outside of Wasington, D.C. run entirely by blacks. They looked at me like "why the heck would a white person ever come in here?". And most importantly, I would feel much less comfortable dating a woman of a different race.

In contrast, at least in the region of Europe where I live, I've never had such experiences. If someone in my entourage of friends is black, no one seems to care. I've gone into establishments run by mirorities and frequented by minorities - particularly Turkish and/or Maghreb/African - and I've never felt weird. I feel more comfortable approaching an unknown person of a different race here than back in the States, and people don't feel uncomfortable dating someone of a different race.

The only people with whom I've felt uncomfortable are those groups (particularly ultra-conservative Muslims or the far-right anti-immigration National Front Party members) who shut themselves off from other parts of society.

But most importantly, I've noticed that amongst the majority of twenty-somethings and younger (I've been working in high schools, by the way), much more racial integration than I've ever seen in the States. There are many more mixed-race friendships, more mixed-race couples, and more mixed-race children than I've ever witnessed back home.

It's true that political organizations such as National Front Party exist in France, and, in fact, I live in a département which their candidate, Jean-Marie Le Pen, won in the 2002 French presidential election. Such organizations will always exist. I even came across a woman at a dinner party who asked me, "so, are blacks still the plague of America?" While I was shocked when I heard her question, I didn't flip out on her - every person has the right to express him or herself, no matter how radical his or her opinions, and I find that free expression is better than repressing one's feelings. The woman's opinions are not mainstream, however, and most rational people think the woman is a nutter. I politely told the woman my dissenting point of view and somehow we haven't managed to speak to each other since.

If somebody doesn't like people who don't look like them, then so be it. However, where I live, it is the older generation and the socailly marginalized who tend to have more racist and narrow-minded viewpoints, while the vast majority of young people that I've encountered have divorced themselves from these sentiments. The majority of young people perceive racism as "old-fashioned" and "uncool". Just look at how many (particularly young) people protested Jean-Marie's passage to the second round of the 2002 presidential elections.

I'm not denying the fact that racsim still exists in Europe. Minorities aren't proportionately represented in either government or in the business world. But based on the trends that I've seen and mentioned, the situation will improve greatly within a generation or so, without indoctrination of any kind. I find this better than hiring "token" employees in order to fill race requirements, because such "token" employees end up being looked upon as undeserving of their job and thus resented. The race situation here where I live, based upon my experiences, seems to be much better than it is in most areas of the United States.

Joseph Cheek (electronic mail, November 25, 2003)