Race Relations

When it comes to Rodgers and Hammerstein, audiences may be more apt to think of "raindrops on roses" than race relations. But the theme of race resonates through many of Rodgers and Hammerstein's best-loved shows -- The King and I, Flower Drum Song and, most prominently, South Pacific. Winner of the 1950 Pulitzer Prize, South Pacific is experiencing a resurgence of interest. In addition to the 2001 TV movie starring Glenn Close, there's a new British revival directed by Trevor Nunn as well as an American touring production, which opens a one-week run at the Mechanic Theatre tomorrow.

Lige Daniels hangs from the tree in Center, Texas. His neck is bent backwards so that his head makes a grotesque right angle with his body. His corpse wears a white shirt and rumpled jeans. His feet are bare. Below Daniels stand members of the mob that lynched him. Many stare straight into the camera. One, a boy who can't be more than 11 or 12 years old, has his head cocked slightly to his left. He wears a shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. A wide tie drapes his neck, its design almost clownish in appearance.

Race relations in Baltimore are deteriorating, in the opinion of 63 percent of the callers to SUNDIAL, or 180 out of 282 responses. Sixty-eight callers, or 24 percent, say race relations are about the same, and 34 callers (12 percent) say relations have improved."It's Your Call" represents a sampling of opinions from certain segments of the community, but it is not balanced demographically, as would be done in a scientific public opinion poll.

I AM THE recipient of the 2004 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dream Keepers Award, which previously has been given to significant civil rights figures, including NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, former U.S. Rep. Parren J. Mitchell and former Maryland Attorney General Stephen H. Sachs. The award is in recognition of my volunteer efforts in the African-American community. I am also the white general counsel of the Maryland Republican Party. How can this be? I was raised in one of the few racially integrated communities in southern Indiana.

UNFORTUNATELY, HATE seems destined to follow us into the 21st century. In the nation and in Howard County, the central issue of race relations remains far from resolved. The century began with "separate but equal" and lynchings by the Ku Klux Klan and their ilk before advances in race relations came in the second half of the 1900s with Brown v. Board of Education and the civil rights movement.Two hate crimes in Howard County over the Labor Day weekend, however, show we have not progressed enough.

THE JOHNS HOPKINS University's decision to convert part of its Homewood Apartments to retail uses and office space is just what Charles Village needs.When the $17-million modernization of the seven-story colossus at Charles and 31st Streets begins this summer, it ought to help the rejuvenation of the shopping area on St. Paul Street.This area has a supermarket, bank, liquor store, flower shop and a handful of eateries. But for the past several years it has nothad a book store. It is hard to think of any other university shopping area without a book store.

A federal judge yesterday ordered Talbot County officials to develop an anti-discrimination policy and to require roads employees to undergo race relations training.The consent decree, signed by U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz in Baltimore, closes a civil action filed last October by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of three black workers employed as equipment operators and laborers. The workers alleged that a supervisor placed them in segregated work crews, used racial epithets to refer to them and denied them choice assignments and overtime pay.The court order was signed by Talbot officials, who did not admit to any wrongful acts.

Most Americans view the riots in Los Angeles as a "warning" about the state of race relations, and say it is time for a new emphasis on the problems of minorities and the cities, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.The new survey, conducted last Wednesday through Friday, found the public in a shaken, worried mood, and more likely to see the unrest as a symptom of festering social needs than as a simple issue of law and order.Majorities of both whites and blacks said that investing in jobs and job training programs was a better way of preventing future turmoil than was strengthening police forces.