Much work remains to achieve racial equality, retired archbishop says

Published: 2004-01-29

METUCHEN, N.J. (CNS) -- Some improvements have been made in racial equality since the civil rights movement, but there is much yet to be done, according to retired Archbishop Peter L. Gerety of Newark, who was homilist at the Diocese of Metuchen's 14th annual Mass for Racial Harmony. "We would be blind to believe that all remnants of interracial injustice or tension have been removed" since the civil rights movement began almost 40 years ago, he said during the Jan. 25 Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral in Metuchen. "Many salutary changes have taken place, in education, in employment, in housing and in so many other aspects of our social life, no question about that," he pointed out. But the archbishop noted that there are still many challenges with regard to race relations, including racial profiling, a disproportionate number of black people in prison and poor educational opportunities in inner cities.

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