By Ann McBride
Arizona Daily Wildcat
In an effort to increase understanding between the races, an "Erase the Hate Race Relations Forum" will be held tomorrow at the UA. The forum, sponsored by the Tucson chapter of the NAACP and Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, will be held in the Social Sciences Building Room 100 from 5 to 7:30 p.m.
Alonzo Williams, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the forum will give people an opportunity to talk openly about race relations, not only in Tucson but throughout the country. While he acknowledged that the O.J. Simpson trial and verdict brought the issue of racial tension to the forefront, Williams said it has been a part of the country for years.
"Hate is there. Racism is there," he said and added that organizations like the NAACP need to educate the public about issues confronting minorities in America. Williams, who works for the UA in its employee relations office, said Tucson has a strong mixture of ethnic groups, but it remains "totally segregated," even on the university campus, which, more than anyplace else, should be a melting pot.
"This is not the case," he said.
The forum will include a presentation by the group, The Panel of Hope. The presentation was first featured at a recent Anne Frank exhibit at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. According to its founder, Diane Katz, the panel is an eclectic group of people in their 20s and 30s who share stories about their identities including race, religion and other life situations.
The idea behind the panel, Katz said, is to learn more about each other in order to learn to live together better.
Williams, a member of the original panel, asked Katz to participate in tomorrow's forum. Each panel presentation consists of about four or five people who relay some of their life experiences in a 15-minute presentation.
Katz, who moved to Tucson from New York in March, said Tucson seems like most cities with a lot of separatism among the races. But she added that Tucson has a lot of people who seem to want to work to improve.