The program will be supported by a grant from the Annenberg School for Communication. Guinier said she is raising money to sponsor similar programs at other universities. She believes that conversations inspired by Commonplace will be a starting point for mending racial, gender, and other societal rifts. In her speech to the National Press Club, Guinier compared racism to a pothole that only grows larger the longer it is ignored. Its presence preoccupies us and distorts our thinking.
Race is the great taboo.
Guinier noted that Americans tend to discuss race in forums that are inadequate, such as talk-radio programs or political campaigns. Talking can be cathartic, not chaotic. Guinier has found that race can inject controversy even into fairly abstract topics. Instead of carving out legislative districts in which blacks would have a majority, for example, Guinier has proposed using the Voting Rights Act to force procedural changes in legislative bodies. Guinier has argued that her academic theories were taken out of context-and misrepresented.