Recalling Stephan Thernstrom and his skepticism of a major philanthropic effort to create dialogue about race

The “best kind of dialogue across racial lines is not dialogue about race,” said the historian, who has died. We “are all people with many common interests to talk about, and a call for a dialogue on race sets us in opposing camps. ‘Oh, you are the spokesman for the white position and you are the spokesman for the black position.’ That, I don’t think, is likely to lead us to a better society.”

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