On Tuesday, groups gathered across Michigan to talk racial and ethnic diversity over bottles of root beer. "Root Beer Summits", organized by the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, were held in such cities as Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Benton Harbor. At the Benton Harbor meeting, department spokesperson Anthony Lewis said that the intent was to help different parts of Michigan's diverse cultural makeup understand each other better by initiating small discussions:
Lewis says that Governor Jennifer Granholm wanted to find a way to ensure that Michigan doesn't struggle with racial tensions down the road that could stall the state's progress:
About 30 people gathered at the LMC Western Michigan University building, breaking up into smaller groups and answering racially-themed questions from trained facilitators from the state:
Lewis says that the information collected could be used by the state to study how policies could be adjusted to satisfy different racial sensitivities:
The Root Beer Summits were inspired by President Barack Obama's so-called "Beer Summit" earlier this year that dealt with racial tensions in Boston. They featured snacks and root beer donated by Meijer and Faygo.
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