| For Immediate Release
January 17, 2003 |
Contacts: | Heather
Bent Tamir |
Oakland , CA - The authors of an acclaimed book on race say the United States must rededicate itself to achieving Dr. King's dream of economic and social equity.
"The country has made progress on racial issues but much more needs to be done for true equity to be achieved," say Angela Glover Blackwell, Stewart Kwoh, and Manuel Pastor, authors of Searching for the Uncommon Common Ground: New Dimensions on Race in America (W.W. Norton, 2002). "Opportunities do exist for moving forward. The challenge is for Americans to avoid aiming for the lowest common denominator and reach for the highest possible levels of agreement on the policies and strategies that are needed for the future."
In their book, the authors, of different ethnicities, identify and present solutions to continuing causes of inequity in the 21st century, such as the digital divide, an unfair criminal justice system, environmental injustice, and the negative racial impact of uncontrolled sprawl.
Searching for the Uncommon Common Ground has won praise for its insightful analysis and provocative frameworks for action, and, in an indication of popular interest, the book has entered its second print run-a first for any title published under the Uniting America series of The American Assembly.
Noted scholar William Julius Wilson has asserted that: " Searching for the Uncommon Common Ground provides the basis for an important national dialogue on issues of race. The book is replete with revealing facts and new insights on both substantive and public policy issues. I highly recommend this study for anyone looking for a fresh and thoughtful framework for the pursuit of racial equality in America ."
More information on Searching
for the Uncommon Common Ground can be found at:
http://www.policylink.org/searching.html
.
Angela Glover Blackwell is the founder and president of PolicyLink, a national nonprofit research and advocacy organization headquartered in Oakland , CA. Stewart Kwoh is the president and executive director of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California based in Los Angeles . Manuel Pastor is a professor of Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of California , Santa Cruz and director of the university's Center for Justice, Tolerance and Community.
The American Assembly is a nonpartisan organization established by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1950 to stimulate discussion of public policy issues.