But having fixed on these individuals in each case, we have a certain duty to be loyal to their story. He said he thought discussion of race had largely subsided in America, that it was in a quiet period. People talk about race all the time. One of things that's so gratifying about the New York Times series is that the Times is focusing on race at a time when the nation is not focused on the one big crisis. I think it's helpful for us to take account of the fact that even if politicians are ignoring race, people are either trying to live together or resenting being forced to be living together.
People have conflict in the workplace.
People are watching intermarriage with either glee or despair at what's happening in their own culture. Race is very much a topic that's being talked about and sorted all the time in most of the neighborhoods I know, across class lines. I agree with you at some level that race is being discussed. I think it's easier to talk about it, and it's being discussed more in comfortable settings where people are with people they trust. What is much harder, and I found this on reporting on journalists who initially were quite concerned about having their names used and so forth, was talking across racial lines.