Race Barriers Collapse Amid Recession

(Link to the story embedded in title)
Henry County, a suburb not too far from Atlanta, is beginning to see its racial tensions disappear. After the recession struck, both blacks and white have faced severe conditions of poverty, forcing them both to find ways to survive. As described in the article, "Blacks and whites have encountered one another in increasing numbers recently in the crowded waiting rooms of the welfare office and at the food pantry, where many of both races have ventured for the first time. Struggling black-owned businesses are attracting the attention of white patrons. Neighbors are commiserating across racial lines." As both blacks and whites must resort to government services they now encounter one another more often. Because of this, the once visible racial tensions in this county are now disappearing. Such as Denese Rodgers, "the county director of social services, who is white, has held several lunch meetings at A J’s Turkey Grill, owned by Diane Walker, a black woman, in hopes of helping business." Ultimately, the recession has helped balance some of the racial differences.
I have mixed emotions to this story. In light of all the negative news we see regarding the recession, it is nice to see that there is something positive resulting from it. Yet this also scares me too. The fact that it took a deep economic recession to erase this racism reveals how prejudiced humans can be at times. The racial barriers had not disappeared until recently, and required a recession that left 49% of whites unemployed and 48% of blacks unemployed. This truly says something about how racist people can be at times. But then again, at least it is changing now in Henry County, and we have made considerable progress since the 1960s on putting behind our racial tensions as we recently elected the first African American President.