It’s easy to overlook or underestimate the reality of discrimination — at least if you’re not on the receiving end of bias.
With any type of situation, our awareness naturally tends to be limited to what directly involves us. If we are to continue growing more united as a society, however, it’s important to understand how our community appears to all of us.
There was a fresh reminder last week that bias may be less pervasive than in the past but is still hurtful to individual people. United Way of Snohomish County President Brent Stewart gave the first glimpse of results that are being compiled from local surveying about discrimination.
Random telephone surveying showed that relatively few people in the county have strong feelings that discrimination occurs in their community. Non-English speaking residents, however, tend to feel somewhat differently, at least according to anecdotal results. There was also significant if somewhat generalized concern about discrimination among focus groups, which included such populations as low-income residents, young people and homeless individuals. Community leaders also appear somewhat more attuned to concerns about discrimination. The results from all those subsets, it should be noted, were informal, in contrast to the statistically valid phone surveying.
The research was done by Snohomish County Counts, a group formed by several organizations to follow up on previous studies of community problems and strengths. Stewart’s remarks to the state Commission on African American Affairs constituted one of the first mentions of the updated results. More information about the extensive findings on a variety of community needs and assets will be released by the organization in coming weeks.
As a commission member noted, overt discrimination is largely gone, but the economic and social effects can continue. There’s good news and happiness in the many signs of progress — as Halle Berry’s emotional response to her Oscar award vividly demonstrated. Still, there’s every reason for the entire community to learn how all of us perceive our reality today.
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