Appendix A4.
Quotes on Race Relations

The questions for each of the four phases in the text and Appendix B have been designed to provide guidance for groups of people who do not know each other well and who do not necessarily have a great deal of experience talking about racial issues. However, if your group is composed of people who are experienced in discussing complex racial issues with each other, the following quotes (taken from actual race dialogues) may be useful to quickly articulate a range of perspectives about race and to stimulate discussion.

"I'm for equality, but people have to take responsibility for their own lives.
You can't blame everything on racism."

"It's not racism at all. It's just fear of crime. I think people are afraid.
I know I am. Does that make me a racist?"

'Native people are an afterthought in the dialogue on race in this country
It's as if everybody has decided we just don't matter. Well, we do matter."

"I don't see color, I just see the person."

"Colorblindness is not the answer, it just means you can't deal with my race
so you want to blot it out and say I am exactly like you."

"When people look at me, they assume I don't speak English,
but my family has lived in Texas for five generations. In fact, I don't speak Spanish."

"I'm not entirely comfortable about being here,
but if I'm not willing to be here nothing is going to change."

"We need to realize that people within each race are individuals
who don't necessarily share the same views or interests."