On MLK Day, suburban leaders still striving to improve race relations

As we mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Daily Herald asked several prominent people about the state of race relations in the suburbs, a year after America elected its first black president.

Bill Simmons, DuPage County's first black police officer and retired chief of the DuPage County State's Attorney's criminal investigations unit:

"We're making progress, but there are still people who are very skeptical. Our young people really have to put things together. ... I think they're really trying to reach out to each other and embrace people of different nationalities. Sometimes it's as simple as a conversation ... just to see that we are all similar and all want the same things. I think (race relations) are improving, but it takes time.

We need to get people of color involved in the county government ... And the school system in DuPage County ... doesn't have enough African-American teachers or enough African-American counselors. Students need to see someone who is the same color as they are, whether it's black or Hispanic, because they can relate better.

When I was growing up, and I'm from Aurora, originally ... there were certain places (black people) couldn't go to eat in Aurora. There were only certain places we could live in Wheaton. It took time to change. But now ... people sometimes think of DuPage County as 'lily white DuPage County,' but it's not. This county is no different from any other county, we have everything that everyone else has."

Heather Dalmage, director of the Mansfield Institute for Social Justice and Reform, Roosevelt University, Chicago, and author of the new book, "Race in the Era of Change:"

"As we look around Chicagoland, we can see suburbs that are disproportionately white, black or Latino. We can also see suburbs that are more mixed, and while particular suburbs may be less well integrated, people still come together in the social seams, such as malls, restaurants and places of employment. Some of the mixing in the suburbs is a result in economic shifts that have brought more immigrants to the Chicago suburbs.

Something that we need to consider about race and suburbs is the way race and class intersect. ... Because of the way we fund schools in Illinois and beyond, families able to live in wealthy areas will have much better access to educational opportunities.

We are just 40 or so years into democracy in the United States (when all people, regardless of race, were given the right to participate in the democracy). African-Americans still have a ways to go to be able to obtain and sustain wealth that whites have had the opportunity to develop over centuries. In short, even as we have removed the legal obstacles to fair housing, issues of wealth and income mediate the race of people able to buy housing in particular suburbs."

The Rev. Francis Senyah, pastor of St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church in Elgin:

"The current political climate (including Obama's election) shows that America has come a long way in regards to race relations. But at the same time we have a long way to go. There needs to be more dialogue to be inclusive, then I think things will work out. I don't think there will be perfect race relations, but I really believe we are on the right track."

Sen. Roland Burris:

"Over the years, I have witnessed the vast changes and improvements in race relations here in Illinois and throughout the United States. With the election of President Obama, we have taken a giant leap forward in demonstrating our progress with regards to racial equality and awareness. While we have made these progressive strides, minorities still face discrimination in their everyday lives. As a country, we must continue to strive for equality and fairness for all Americans, regardless of race, age, creed, or gender."

Andrew Wiese, professor of history, San Diego State University, and author of "Places of Their Own: African-American Suburbanization in the 20th Century:"

"Race is less of a factor in American suburbs today than at any time in the history of suburbs. ... Just 25 years ago, American suburbs were overwhelmingly white and racially exclusive. Those few suburbs where people of color had been successful in moving were mostly beset by white flight and avoidance, disinvestment by private enterprise, high taxes and below average services. Suburbia was a physical emblem of white supremacy...

These features have not evaporated, but they have eroded with time. Daily news still brings us reports of hostility and violence against African Americans, Latinos, and others ... Yet today, America's suburbs are more diverse and more open than ever before."

... Today more than ever before, people of every race, color and background are living openly in the relative peace that is American suburbia, interacting as co-workers, classmates, congregants, neighbors, teammates, friends and lovers. From the perspective of our past, this is an unprecedented step forward.

Time will tell, but there is greater reason to be hopeful today than any time since Martin Luther King faced mobs on Chicago's West Side..."