RACISM AND PLANNING

Racism shapes and influences what many planners do. Interviews with three minority planners illustrate three different objectives in the elimination of racism: equal opportunity, affirmative action, and cultural inclusion. Two detailed stories contrast a white professional's affirmative action efforts with an African-American female's account of coping with the subtle and painful indignities of institutional and cultural exclusion. The efforts individual planners take to avoid discriminating by race and to redress racial injustice are important. However, these efforts alone do not address the justice gap between African-American minorities and the white majority.