Racing Across The Lines: Changing Race Relations Through Friendship

Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read for Those Serious about Race Relations
Review: Plummer's "Racing across the Lines" is the most compelling book on race relations I have ever read. She tackles head on the "elephant in the living room" (that which we all see but refuse to talk about)from her own life experience and personalizes the topic of race relations so that it almost reads like a novel. She uses her exposure in both the African American and white cultures as the backdrop for her basic premise, "I do not believe that race relations in the United States will progress until what we do after five o'clock and on the weekends, especially in our churchhes, includes a bit of diversity...The practice of diversity management can only be learned in the school of life--espeically life after work hours." (p. 12) This goes way beyond political correctness or the affect on the bottom line in our workplaces. Plummer writes in first person, names real friends and colleagues, and offers a how-to for those interested in beginning a dialogue with someone of color different from one's own. Each chapter ends for the reader with a Journalogue--a series of reflections, questions, and spriritual action steps. This should be required reading for anyone wanting an honest, practical, and soul-searching approach to interracial friendships and to personal, professional, spiritual growth.