Issues of race at forefront of talk

Examining issues of race, politics and the future of both in the United States, Harvard Law Professor Christopher Edley addressed a crowd of about 100 Penn students and Philadelphia residents on Wednesday at the Law School. Edley, a politically active scholar who has served as an economic advisor to the Clinton administration, was the featured speaker for this year's Honorable A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. Memorial Lecture. Edley's discussion of evolving race relations -- and their effect on politics -- seemed appropriate given the current presidential election situation. "The election campaign, whatever the result, has brought into focus the dangers and opportunities before us," Edley said. This is the 12th year that the Afro-American Studies Program has sponsored this lecture, which honors Higginbotham -- a Penn professor for more than 30 years -- for his contributions to legal and academic communities. Following a brief introduction from English Professor Herman Beavers, the director of the Afro-American Studies Program, Law School Dean Michael Fitts gave a short tribute to Higginbotham's legacy. Penn Law Professor Regina Austin then presented the audience with some of Edley's accomplishments. Edley began his political career working with the Carter administration, and has continued as an advisor to President Clinton. He currently serves on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, having replaced Higginbotham after his death. In his speech, Edley looked at three key issues: the racial divide in the country, the new agenda for racial justice and the state of democracy. Throughout the talk he emphasized that race in this country no longer exclusively concerns African Americans and whites. "We have to broaden our vision and tackle a more complicated problem, the new problem of the colored lines," Edley said. He explained that because of the rapid growth of the Asian and Latino populations, the race dialogue will have to expand to include them as well. College sophomore Christine Choi identified with Edley's remarks. "He made a big focus on cross-racial coalitions," she said. "Minority groups need to focus on each other to promote a greater understanding." Edley stressed the need for more collaboration between people of all colors. "Listen," he said, "I think we need to reclaim the integration idea." As he criticized last week's presidential election for being "scandalous," he made clear that race is becoming more important as both Republicans and Democrats increasingly seek minority support. Before concluding the lecture with a 15-minute question-and-answer session, Edley pointed out that in this "century of color," a community vision of the future will be critical if "our hearts [are to] be healed of the poisons of racial hatred."

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