Change of Heart: AARP Civil Rights Survey

[AspenRose]

I went to the doctor today and ran across this "Civil Rights" issue of AARP Magazine (Danny Glover on the cover). I wanted to make sure there was an internet copy of the survey, and there is:

http://www.aarpmagazine.org/people/Articles/a2004-03-17-mag-changeheart.html

<snip>

"The most astonishing progress has been made in two areas that hit closest to home for most Americans: interracial relationships and the neighborhoods we live in. Consider that 70 percent of whites now say they approve of marriage between whites and blacks, up from just 4 percent in a 1958 Gallup poll. Such open-mindedness extends across racial lines: 80 percent of blacks and 77 percent of Hispanics also said they generally approve of interracial marriage. Perhaps even more remarkable, a large majority of white respondents—66 percent—say they would not object if their own child or grandchild chose a black spouse. Blacks (86 percent) and Hispanics (79 percent) were equally accepting about a child or grandchild's marrying someone of another race.

When it comes to choosing neighbors, an inclusive spirit again prevails: majorities of blacks, whites, and Hispanics all say they would rather live in racially mixed neighborhoods than surround themselves with only members of their own group. "It's hard now to imagine the level of fear and anxiety that Americans felt about these issues just a few decades ago," says Taylor Branch, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for his history of the Civil Rights Movement, Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-1963."


Perhaps Randi Rhodes' comments about everyone becoming a nice shade of mocha is *finally* coming to pass in this country.


Danny Glover's Interview:
http://www.aarpmagazine.org/people/Articles/a2004-03-17-mag-dglover.html

"The Roots of Hatred":
http://www.aarpmagazine.org/people/Articles/a2004-03-18-mag-hatred.html

More stories can be found at:
http://www.aarpmagazine.org/Articles/tableofcontents_mag_mayjune2004.html