Carrasco's multimedia presentation included a brief slide show and an upbeat, bilingual version of the traditional civil rights song "We Shall Overcome," during which one enthused audience member got up and danced.

Finally, the two professors asked for community.

"What I'm asking from my black sisters and brothers is to give me some shades on this black-white discourse," Carrasco said.

"Can we take this new demography and turn it into a new democracy?" Carrasco said.

"Let us proceed," West said. "Much is at stake."

Many audience members said they were pleased with the dialogue.

"I think that too often people frame race dialogues as an issue between blacks and whites and forget Latinos and Asians," said Jia-Rui Chong '99.

"It's a really encouraging trend that there's more interaction and discussion between ethnic groups, because America is a complicated place," Chong said.

Chong pointed to the recent discussion between blacks and Jews at Adams House and the recent dialogue between Asians and Latinos as example of increased racial discussion on the Harvard campus.

Other audience members pointed to the dialogue as a start to ending some of the nation's inter-minority tensions.

"I think there's definitely tension between all minorities that we have to fight for the same resources," said Rodney M. Glasgow, a first-year concentrating in psychology and African-American studies. "I call them crumbs."

"The black-brown discussion takes it to a higher level of worth," Glasgow said. "I find it very promising."