Clintonâs panel, community search
for meaning

By Jesse Stephenson
The Metropolitan

Representatives of local minority organizations said they are struggling to make sense of a conference on race in Denver that was sponsored by President Clinton. So are some of the panelists who came to campus March 23 and 24 to discuss racial stereotypes at three community meetings.

Aurariaâs race talks were punctuated by protests, tears and discord among the panelists and audience. Nearly 1,000 people attended the talks, which were held in the Tivoli Student Union.

Clinton appointed board members,  who have been traveling around the country since fall 1997, to initiate talks on race-related issues.

The initiativeâs seven advisory board members  draft reports about their findings and experiences for the president.

Rob Holmes, chairman of the Black Employment Program Council, said the conference left him confused and disappointed. The council is a Denver organization working with the Black Chamber of Commerce and local coalitions to foster business relations within the black community.

Holmes attended the Auraria meetings to gather information about the race initiative for his council.
He said he isnât sure what to tell them.
 

But Holmes said his briefing will likely include the anger expressed by Native Americans, many of whom protested at the conferences and overtook Mondayâs meeting because none of their own was appointed to Clintonâs board. Holmes might also tell his group the panelistâs speeches were peppered with technical terms and sociological jargon.
 

ãThey talked to this audience at an academic level,ä Holmes said. ãThey inflamed some people by doing that and they bickered among themselves.
 

ãThat gives me the impression they donât know what they are doing. Iâm just wondering how much of what was said at this conference is going to get back to the White House, and will it be specifics or generalizations?ä
John Hope Franklin, chairman of the race board, did not respond to questions on what the board will say about the Auraria race talks.
 

ãWe didnât learn a great deal here,ä he said.

Lydia Sermons, a spokeswoman for Clintonâs race initiative said the reporting process takes several weeks.

ãWe have to look at the transcript,ä Sermons said. ãWe need to digest what was said and make sure we fully understand the issues.
 

ãAfter that, the advisory board sends a letter of recommendation on to the president based on the things we heard out of the community.ä

So far, the board has reported to the president on matters such as race relations in education, labor and health care, Sermons said.

Guest panelist Richard Estrada, associate editor for The Dallas Morning News, told The Metropolitan that the board will probably tell the president about areas of contention for the Native Americans.
 

ãI think most of the board members hadnât realized the intensity of feeling Native Americans have in terms of national sovereignty issues and the makeup of the expert panel,ä Estrada said. ãThe board will doubtless make some recommendations to the president on these issues.ä

Lori Windle, chairwoman of the American Indian Program Council, a group organized to increase the number of Native Americans in the federal workforce, said sheâll tell the council the Auraria race talks will ultimately prove fruitful.

ãI think the panel served a purpose but not the one they intended or expected,ä she said. ãThe purpose for American Indians was to get the attention of the president ÷ and I think they will do that.ä

Windle, a Metro graduate and member of the Anishinabe nation , said the race discussions might also remind people that race is an inflammatory issue for most.
 

Mary Viv Lawson, an audience member at Tuesdayâs discussion, tearfully told the panel that Clintonâs initiative was flawed.
 

ãThis whole conference is very upsetting to me because people are talking over each other,ä she said. ãThis panel of power brokers interacting with the citizenry is just not working.ä
 

Throughout the Auraria meetings, many audience members criticized the initiativeâs format and effectiveness.
Still, most listened when members of the panel related their findings about the sociology of stereotyping and their personal experiences with race relations.
 

Gov. Roy Romer, who made opening remarks March 24, told the audience he gained insight about race relations as a participant in the civil rights movement in Alabama during the 1960s.

Romer said there was a law in that state forbidding white people from playing checkers with black people.
Panelist Federico Peña, national energy secretary and former Denver mayor, emphasized the historical significance of Clintonâs race initiative.

ãNever before in our nationâs history have we has a panel such as this,ä he said. ãThis dialogue is about our past and our future.ä

Sermons told The Metropolitan that the budget for the year-long project is $4.8 million. Funding for the presidentâs race initiative comes from the Department of Justice. Clintonâs initiative board will operate until September 1998.
 

The next scheduled round of race talks will be April 6-9 at other colleges and universities.
Locations for the Campus Week of Dialogue on Race have not been announced.

Information about Clintonâs initiative on race is available on the Internet at http://www.whitehouse.gov/Initiatives/

OneAmerica.