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**CommunityForum on Race Relations in Racine County, Wisconsin**

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**Chapter1**

**Introduction**

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Thepurpose of this study is to examine the state of race and ethnic relations inthe city of Racine and Racine County, Wisconsin. Testimony from organizationsand individuals supported with demographic, employment, housing, and educationdata are presented regarding the presence of racial and ethnic tensions and theexistence of covert and/or overt barriers in the city of Racine and in RacineCounty that may be precluding equal opportunity for minority residents.

Inthe 1940s and 1950s, obvious differences in opportunities among racial andethnic groups existed in the community. This was a time in Racine when many ofthe most modest public accommodations were not available to people of color.Minorities could not access many of the finer hotels, restaurants, and publicvenues. Higher paying jobs in the community were overtly denied to people ofcolor. 

Inthe 1960s, open racial and ethnic tensions spewed across the community. Inresponse, backed by the community�s major employers, programs were implementedjointly with the city to resolve such issues. The major initiative was theRacine Environment Committee (REC). The REC was established in the fall of 1967to study and recommend action on race-related problems that affected theindustrial, economic, and social climate of the Racine metropolitan area. It wasformed as an outgrowth of the Hill-Kidd Committee, which had been appointed bythe mayor of Racine in August 1966 to investigate and recommend action in areaswhere racial and ethnic discrimination existed. More than a benevolententerprise, industry leaders had come to understand that if they could notproduce a good living environment it would negate their opportunity to attractthe type of work force they wanted.

Sincethe REC, other public and private efforts to examine and resolve race-relatedissues have been implemented, and today instances of people of color beingopenly denied access to housing, employment, and public venues are increasinglyrare. Still, since the REC there has been no similar, broad-based communityinitiative in the area of civil rights. To this end, a public community forumwas held on September 21, 1999, by the Wisconsin Advisory Committee to the U.S.Commission on Civil Rights, to determine the current state of race and ethnicrelations and to again draw the community�s attention to such issues.

Atthe community forum, the Advisory Committee solicited testimony from individualsand organizations in two sessions. During the day session, invited public,civic, and community leaders addressed the Advisory Committee at the RadissonInn Harbourwalk. In the evening, members of the public were afforded theopportunity to address the Committee at an open session held at the John BryantCommunity Center, 601 21st Street in Racine. 

Thoseinvited to testify before the Committee during the day session were (in order ofappearance): James H. Smith, mayor, city of Racine; Chief of Police James Polzin,Assistant Chief Allen Baker, and Lieutenant Steve Hurley (Racine PoliceDepartment); Mattie Booker (Racine Unified School District); Dave Mauer (RacineArea United Way); Mary Day (Racine Educational Council); Morris Reece (Racinechapter NAACP); Julian Thomas (Urban League); Rev. Jimmie Lockridge (CivilRights Committee); Rev. Lawrence Kirby (St. Paul Church); Sonya Telez (HispanicBusiness and Professional Association); Ken Lumpkin (*The Insider News* and*Hispanic News*); Rev. George Ramsey (Shiloh Stronghold Church of God inChrist); and Neal Kueny (Family Service Center of Racine).

Individualsspeaking at the public session were (in order of appearance): Dianna Garcia,Alphonso Goron, Paula Castile, James Gordon, Hugh Souter, Chester Todd, JudithKoenig, Rev. Shaw Parsons, Wally Rendon, Theresa Gordon, David Guran, CorrineOwens, and Gilbert Delgado. 

Thisreport presents its examination of race relations in Racine County and the cityof Racine in four sections: (1) income and employment, (2) education, (3)policing, and (4) housing and public accommodation. Each section opens withbackground information followed by two sets of commentary, one from the invitedpublic leaders and organization representatives and a second set of commentaryreceived from the public at the open session. In a separate chapter, theCommittee offers its comments and observations.