Sam Smith
Treat multiculturalism as an asset, not just as a problem. Yes, there are all sorts of problems but by only talking about negatives, such as racism, we unconsciously lower the standing that multiculturalism has in our society.
Take note of what multiculturalism has done for you. The story is there but we tend not to tell it. For example, I was one of many white guys who got into jazz because of the black music that we played. There are loads of other stories we forget to tell or remind ourselves of.
Use the term ethnicity rather than race. As Scientific American put
it in 2016: "Race is a social construct, scientists argue. Racial
categories are weak proxies for genetic diversity and need to be phased
out."
EDUCATION
Yes, teach about slavery but about multiculturalism as well: Every school child should take a course that describes our multicultural society. We need a positive ethnic curriculum.
Teach about those of varied cultures who are good general role models - ML
King wasn't just a black role model, he was one for every young person
trying to make their society better. Tell about the scientists,
philosophers,artists and social activists of each ethnicity
Theater, music, and sports are not just extra curricular activities. They are rare places in a school where students actually learn to work with other students, including those of another ethnicity
POLICE
Assign officers to work in a particular neighborhood several days a week. Give them bikes or scooters but get them out of their cars and among the people they're meant to be protecting. One community has a coffee-with-a-cop program. My sons played on a police boys club baseball team when they were young. One DC police chief would take someone on parole with him when he went to speak to a high school assembly. We need to have our cops rejoin our communities.
Have social workers available to join cops on cases involving mental problems.
Have a lawyer assigned to each police precinct. They can teach cops but also be available to help individual officers with their questions and problems.
Change our laws so that minor offenses against a community are punished by required community service.
Make police members of our community and not just military occupiers
COMMUNITIES
Although we live in a time that emphasizes identity politics one
of the most successful techniques of minority activists is to take the
lead on issues that affect whites as well. In DC, for example, black
leaders added DC statehood and a battle against freeways to their
agenda, creating a multicultural alliance that added to their power.
Have community service organizations to help poorer citizens. I have lived in a number of communities where these groups existed and they not only helped the poor but they provided a common ground on which white and minority volunteers could work together. For example, on Washington's Capitol Hill we had Friendship House. A report in the 1980s noted that "During one three-month period in 1982, Friendship House ... connected 150 residents with resources; assisted 33 renters or owners; advocated for city-wide policy changes; organized public housing meetings and a disco to fund public housing resident councils; helped people get jobs; dispensed clothes; gave out emergency food assistance; enrolled 84 families in a food cooperative; organized parents to improve the public schools; provided a breathtaking array of youth activities; provided seniors with meals and services (including visiting them in the hospital); and more .... They organized public housing residents into resident councils to advocate for repairs and security, formed food cooperatives and low-cost food buying clubs, and organized residents as consumers to work to improve the Safeway and call for lower utility bills."
Libraries and churches can provide talks and discussions about local problems including ethnic ones.
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The suggestions above are just samples of ideas of how folks of different cultures can get along better. The media and academia teach us that multiculturalism is mainly a problem, when in fact it is a huge asset that we just have to learn how to enjoy, respect, practice and learn about.
