Realizing one year was not enough time, President Clinton's advisory board Thursday debated the idea of keeping his race initiative alive through a new "president's council" devoted to racial concerns.
In their final meeting, board members said they have identified thousands of efforts in which people are successfully resolving racial conflicts. They concluded that there must be a mechanism for these efforts to reach areas of the country where racial tension or isolation remains a problem."There must be a government structure to support this cadre of leaders," the Rev. Suzan Johnson Cook said in proposing the idea.
Board member Robert Thomas said a presidential council could reach out to people who remain too alienated to address racism on their own.
"It's difficult to get anybody but the choir involved in this discussion," Thomas said.
The board did not offer specifics about the council such as funding, structure or size. Thomas cautioned that the ideas discussed Thursday are merely ideas and likely would be amended before being presented to Clinton.