Letters: York, Pa., Voters And Race

Copyright © 2008 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

ROBERT SIEGEL, host:

Now, to your comments about yesterday's program. And we are deluged with e-mails about our discussion on race in the presidential campaign.

MELISSA BLOCK, host:

Our co-host Michele Norris and Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep talked with a diverse group of voters in York, Pennsylvania. At the end of the conversation, Michele tallied the vote.

MICHELE NORRIS: The majority of the white voters are supporting John McCain. All of the people of color are supporting Barack Obama.

SIEGEL: Well, that prompted this e-mail from Kurt Bogner(ph) of Norfolk, Nebraska. I'd like to point out that you could also summarize that all people of color went with the candidate of color while some white people would cross race and go with a candidate of color.

BLOCK: Many of you thanked us for the conversation. Karen Hyder(ph) from Culver City, California wrote, your interview with the voters in Pennsylvania was one of the most powerful I've heard. Of course, we all say racism doesn't play a part in our vote, but it is our unconscious and our experiences that really determine why we do something. There is no way to measure this, but I think you came close.

SIEGEL: Kathleen Cushing(ph) of Portland, Oregon, who told us that she's white, described her personal reaction this way. I was sad to hear the comments of some of the white voters who participated in this focus group, but I do not feel so far removed from their concerns. After listening, I wondered what took me so long to decide to vote for Obama. I can only conclude that I was influenced by race as well and realize that we each need to understand ourselves better in order to vote for the best person for the presidency.

BLOCK: And a lot of you included constructive criticism.

SIEGEL: The biggest response was triggered by Lea Morland(ph) one of the York voters, a white woman, who insisted that Barack Obama, a Christian, is a Muslim and will be until he dies. This letter is from Bob Crandell(ph) of Fort Collins, Colorado and he reflected a widespread response. Certainly, on the anniversary of the attacks on America by Islamic terrorists, we can all understand where this woman's caution comes from, but why did I not hear either reporter asked, why would you be concerned about a Muslim as president of the United States?

BLOCK: And some of you took issue with the makeup of our voter group which was designed to reflect the York population. This is from May Caroline Chen(ph) of Albany, New York. Perhaps the diversity represented by this panel has produced a useful needed discussion. But I hope next time, your participants include an Asian-American voter.

The omission of Asian-American voices suggest there is no interest in this year's historic election. On the contrary, some of us Asian-American voters are watching this election carefully and would like to see how an Asian-American voter perceives the racial and global issues raised by the presidential candidates.

SIEGEL: And Cecilia Lumus(ph) of Baton Rouge wrote to post more questions. I often wonder about the relationship between racism and age. I have older relatives, whom I might describe as somewhat racist, but it seems that the younger people I know are less so. Are our views evolving over time? Will the next generation not even have to talk about this or is there some inherent fear of people different from ourselves that we cannot shake no matter how open minded we may want to be?

BLOCK: Well, Michele and Steve are going back to York, Pennsylvania next month and we invite all of you to e-mail us with your questions. What should they ask?

SIEGEL: Tell us by going to npr.org. Click on Contact Us at the top of the page and put York in the subject line.

Copyright © 2008 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.