Examination of Witnesses (Question 200)
MS SARAH
SPENCER CBE AND
PROFESSOR RICHARD
BLACK
1 APRIL 2008
Q200 Jim Dobbin: Does it matter,
is it good or bad, if people from different backgrounds live parallel
lives?
Professor Black: Yes, it does
matter. Our study does not show that directly, but my understanding
is that the research evidence is out there, that over the medium
term, if communities live parallel lives, the potential for misunderstanding
and tension is greater. I would add that there are at least three
dimensions in which people can live parallel lives, so we should
not make the mistake of feeling that it is only integration in
the workplace, for example, that matters. There is residential
integration, there is workplace integration and there is also
integration in leisure activity. I was very struck by Barack Obama's
comments in the American presidential race a few weeks ago saying
that the most segregated hour in American life is ten o'clock
on Sunday morning when the different communities go off to their
separate churches.
Chair: Thank you very much indeed.
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