Is Solidarity the Key to Bridging the Racial Divide?

Race relations continue to be one of the nation’s foremost challenges, and the majority of Americans believe they have worsened over the last year. Despite significant progress since the Civil Rights Era, there remains significant racial disparities and entrenched segregation in nearly all facets of American life.

Political partisanship and ideological polarization further complicate the issue by pitting citizens against one another with race being a primary line of demarcation between the two sides. Though sound policy is necessary to create a more fair and just society, it is insufficient. Is national solidarity the key to overcoming the racial divide in the United States? Is such a solidarity even feasible in a multiracial democratic nation? 

Join the Fellows and Political Reform programs as we explore the present state of race relations in the United States and the prospects for developing national solidarity. 

A reception will follow the discussion. 

Participants: 

Juliet Hooker, @creoleprof 
Professor of Political Science, Brown University 

Carole Bell, @BellCV 
Asst. Professor of Political Communication, Northeastern University 

Tehama Lopez Bunyasi

Asst. Professor at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University 

Moderator: 

Ted Johnson, @DrTedJ 
Senior Fellow, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law 
Eric & Wendy Schmidt Fellow, New America