Some of My Friends Are...: The Daunting Challenges and Untapped Benefits of Cross-Racial Friendships

University of Massachusetts diversity officer Plummer (Racing Across the Lines) revisits the topic of cross-racial friendships with cautious optimism and nuanced grace. In her view, close, long-term friendships can promote personal growth by challenging individuals, but can also lead to avoidance of difficult topics. Plummer recounts her experiences of being a black woman in majority-white environments, like schools in a rural part of Ohio and a religious order, with reflective self-awareness. And she supports her ideas with a selection of friendship narratives, focus group insights, and analyses of broader cultural trends, such as the varying ways different generations express racism (including Generation Z, whose members, she writes, often lack understanding of institutional racism). Plummer also acknowledges that people may not have the skills to navigate racial discussions. Her analysis of the process by which people develop their personal racial identities, based in a gestalt psychological model, will be enlightening to white readers who don’t understand how to approach comprehending their own race. Plummer makes a strong case that “fellowship” and deep friendships can propagate cross-cultural positivity and pave the way toward a less racially segregated society in a way that institutional and ambient diversity, or even romantic relationships, cannot. Her kind recognition of challenges this work presents should encourage readers to make the effort. [em](Jan.) [/em]