In other cases, blacks feel that whites won't believe them or that simply bringing up issues of race is too explosive. And some are concerned about whites considering blacks hyersentitive. It can sound like you're making excuses. For their part, whites concede that such issues are often difficult to discuss. I don't think we listen because I think we feel helpless.
Some whites hesitate to talk about race for fear of being taken the wrong way.
Of course, many people are reluctant to share their personal or work-related experiences in the office whether it's with someone of another race or not. But it becomes a problem between the races because there is less understanding and less natural empathy to begin with. While there are authentic bonds between blacks and whites, blacks interviewed for this story suggested that there was much they didn't share with their white friends. Timothy Alston, formerly a commercial lender at a Boston bank, felt good about the response of one white co-worker. He spent a lunch hour with the friend shopping at a department store.