Yet, to the degree that powerful elements in white Dallas deny the problem and prefer to denounce the messengers for their unruly manners, the result may only be more eruptions. Even the self-interest of the white community suggests that this is a time to correct old injustices and look forward, not backward. When volcanic ash settles, it makes more fertile soil. The fallout in Dallas can, in fact, become the civic turf of a city that works again. What's more, in an international order of infinite cultural diversity, a world shrunk by electronic technology, the idea of a closely held Dallas has lost its allure and practicality.
Challenges remain, of course, especially in social life.
Retaining what works There are elements of Dallas' old culture that no one in his right mind would want to jettison. There is an exceptional volunteer spirit, including corporations' expectations that their employees will contribute to civic causes. One also thinks of the city's inherent optimism, its can-do spirit, its ability to dream and then galvanize for action. Some Dallas institutions are starting to do that, in imaginative ways. The Meadows Foundation and Communities Foundation of Texas are quietly but effectively working to redevelop whole neighborhoods, assimilating new populations of Asians and Hispanics and focusing on social services for multiple groups, African-Americans included.