Almost one out of five people surveyed in the St. Paul metro region say they sometimes feel guilty or anxious about their beliefs about people from other races. This is one of the findings of a new assessment by The Saint Paul Foundation of public attitudes toward, and experiences with, racism in Dakota, Ramsey and Washington counties. The assessment was conducted in preparation for a campaign that the foundation plans to initiate this fall around issues of race and racism.

"One of The Saint Paul Foundation's long-range goals is to strive to create an anti-racist community," said Carleen Rhodes, foundation president. "It is important and appropriate to recognize that people of all ethnic and racial backgrounds make our community vibrant, while also creating dynamic tension and challenges. Addressing those challenges requires us to face the complicated issue of race and acknowledge different opinions and perspectives."

The foundation's assessment was conducted over the past 12 months, and was co-led by senior fellow Sharon Sayles-Belton of the Roy Wilkins Center for Human Relations and Social Justice at the Humphrey Institute, and Dr. Paul Mattessich of the Wilder Research Center. The assessment included interviews with more than 1,000 residents of the three-county area, analysis of past research, interviews with other organizations that are conducting or have completed anti-racism initiatives, and a statistical analysis of the changing demographics in St. Paul and surrounding communities. It creates a baseline understanding of attitudes that exist about race in the St. Paul metro region - between and among all races.

Findings indicate that responses to racism are as varied as definitions of racism. All groups report some level of discomfort around people of other races, and more than 40 percent say that people of other races don't want to get to know them because of their race. Across all three counties, 60 percent of people say they feel comfortable speaking up in defense of a victim of racism.

The foundation will apply the report's findings and recommendations this fall in a campaign called "Facing Race: We're All in This Together." The goal of the campaign is to trigger change in the nature of personal, organizational and institutional relationships - creating a more equitable, just and open region and a community in which everyone feels safe, valued and respected. The foundation also plans to hold a community-wide summit to create an action plan for the area, and an ongoing community assessment to measure change and impact.

This assessment work was funded by F. R. Bigelow Foundation, Mardag Foundation, Katherine B. Andersen Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation, Otto Bremer Foundation and The Saint Paul Foundation.

To download an executive summary of the assessment (PDF, 11 pages), visit The Saint Paul Foundation's Web site.

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