In Oak Park, residents take pride in the fact that the village is an open and inclusive community. In fact, a recent survey by the Village Health Department confirmed this: Diversity was the most frequently mentioned strength of Oak Park, with 53 percent of respondents identifying it (this is 14 percent more than second-place “village services” and 21 percent more than fourth-place “schools”).
However, as the recent “gang-sign” letter controversy illustrated, even Oak Park must continue to strive for tolerance and understanding. Structural forces in our society tend to divide people by promoting negative stereotypes and misconceptions of minorities. While not ignoring personal responsibility, we need to recognize that these forces provoke one to conclude that a student sporting two fingers must be flashing a gang sign.
Practically, structural racism is hardly an issue for many whites. The barriers to opportunity that make it more difficult for minority achievement are largely invisible to whites. Thus, they often dismiss achievement gaps as the fault of minorities without comprehending the impediments faced by minorities. Worse, it encourages fear of minorities (as Ken Trainor suggested as a possible motive for Mr. Davis’ letter), because one believes the divisive rhetoric and images designed to pit us against one another.
Thus, I applaud Wednesday Journal for taking the issues of diversity and tolerance seriously. Dan Haley’s front-page apology was an important recognition of the need to state the values that Oak Park holds dear-clearly and unequivocally. Also, the space devoted to the issue in last week’s Journal provides useful dialogue on race relations in Oak Park. Most of all, it is heartening to see the students of OPRF rally to show their disdain for racial stereotyping.
At the Oak Park Regional Housing Center, we act on these issues daily. It is our mission to shatter negative racial perceptions and encourage our clients to consider people based on their character, not their race. We promote the village externally as a diverse community with compassionate and tolerant residents. And we implore our clients to view Oak Park as a whole community where people live among one another throughout the village.
Yet we still hear frequent comments from our white clients about avoiding the parts of the village that have higher African-American populations. Unfortunately, when we ask about their misperceptions, the clients often respond that they were told by a friend in the village to avoid certain areas of Oak Park. These comments prove that, despite our diligence and commitment, there is still work to do-that our mission to achieve meaningful and lasting diversity has yet to be accomplished.
We have made great progress in Oak Park. Compared to our neighbors and our contemporaries, Oak Park is a national model for promoting diversity and integration. But, the village is an integrated island in a sea of segregated communities. If we fail to actively promote the community as open and inclusive, the waves of segregation threaten to wash away our progress-something we cannot, as good citizens, allow to occur.
Rob Breymaier is executive director of the Oak Park Regional Housing Center.