The taxi did not move. The driver looked worried and finally, nervously, said, "I can't go to Southie. I won't go to Southie. It is too dangerous. I will get hurt."

Embarrassed, I apologized and left the cab and began to search for a driver who would take me into the city. I finally found another driver. He too was Black but explained he went wherever he pleased, despite the danger. We quickly made our trip to Southie, despite his nervousness and despite the shame I felt for the city I call home.

I've heard for years how successful we have been in combatting racial discrimination. We praise ourselves for having eliminated blatant discrimination--the name-calling, the assaults, and the Jim Crow laws. Our struggle, we tell ourselves, is to fight the subtle discrimination--the quiet, harmful fears we have of our differences. By not doing enough to combat it, however, we have allowed the blatant, violent bigotry to re-emerge.

TWO-AND-A-HALF years ago, a frozen orange and grapefruit were thrown through a dorm window at Currier House where a Black student was sitting. The assailants, calling themselves the "negro hit squad" phoned in to claim responsibility.

It is clear that blatant racial discrimination--even here at Harvard, a supposed bastion of tolerance and free-thinking--has not been eliminated. Part of the reason is that while we have been praising ourselves for the civil rights successes of the past 20 years, we have ignored the problems that persist.

Camille Holmes '89, former president of the Black Students Association, explains that racial harrassment--such as name-callings, the promotion of stereotypes, and the belief that Blacks are inferior to whites--at Harvard is still alive.

As Holmes explains, the continued neglect by the University of the Afro-American Studies Department and a failure to significantly increase the number of tenured minority faculty play a role in this problem. "It sends a message" to white students "that racial concerns are not a top priority," she said.

Further, Holmes explains, "minority students on the campus feel a lot less support. There aren't the same resources there, and that creates an environment where you felt less comfortable.

Holmes recommends that a course or official discussions of American racial and ethnic groups would be helpful, particularly during freshman year. Such a program, she explains, would heighten racial sensitivity. "Everyone makes different racial discoveries, and that is the first step toward a solution."