The race question in America is as baffling as ever for an outsider but seems just as perplexing for insiders as the 40th anniversary of desegregation in Little Rock came and went two weeks ago. The situation of African-Americans in the South has improved since the day Federal troops had to protect nine black children from white protesters as they enrolled in Little Rock Central High School. But how much has it improved? And are blacks, even in the more enlightened North, getting a fair deal?
Whites resent the use of "affirmative action" programmes where by blacks get favourable treatment to remedy past discrimination or to promote "diversity". Many believe it is unconstitutional to discriminate deliberately in this way and the issue is now before the Supreme Court in the form of the dismissal of a white teacher from a New Jersey school to preserve the job of a black teacher.
In Texas the number of black students being admitted to universities has fallen since a court there ruled that race cannot be considered when admissions are being decided. A law school professor in Texas recently caused uproar when he claimed that the reason for the low number of black and Latino students was because they could not compete academically. The Rev Jesse Jackson called the comment "racist, fascist and offensive". The banned racial preference policy in admission to law schools was an acknowledgement that black students needed a helping hand to make up for disadvantages they had suffered in earlier schooling.
In Washington, hardly a day goes by without reports in the media of events where race is either an unspoken or overt factor. This is due by and large to the fact that the capital, with a largely black population and a low tax base, is run by a black mayor, Mr Marion Barry. His under-funded administration is constantly criticised by whites for inefficiency in the fight against crime, as well as the state of the roads, the schools and garbage collections.
The city's residential areas are virtually segregated, with the white middle-classes clustered in the north-west and the suburban areas in Maryland and Virginia. Newcomers to the city are warned to avoid at night - and even in the day - the south-east and south-west areas where poorer blacks live.
Much publicity is being given to a court case in which a well-known clothing store is being sued by a black youth who was made to take off his shirt in view of other customers because he did not have the receipt with him. The publicity is encouraging many other young blacks to tell their accounts of humiliating treatment in shops. The most effective remedy to what is called "consumer racism" is large damages, according to black lawyers who say victims are no longer accepting such treatment but are prepared to go to court.
Meanwhile, President Clinton, who preaches constantly against racism, is said to be having trouble with the commission he set up three months ago to advise him how to improve race relations. While the commission has been discussing whether an official apology and reparations should be given to blacks over slavery, the President is anxious to focus its work on how to improve educational opportunities for young blacks.
How sensitive this whole area is can be seen in the campaign against a dictionary definition of the word "nigger" as: "A black person - usually taken to be offensive." The protesters have condemned the publishers of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary for allowing the word to remain and say that, besides, it is not an accurate definition as it can be applied to more than black people.
It is pointed out, however, that black people frequently use it among themselves as a term of endearment in rap music and conversation. One thinks of the word "culchie" in Ireland which will pass for banter between friends but woe betide the jackeen who tries to use it in a pub.
A recent study has set out to show how the situation of blacks has improved considerably since the days of civil rights marches in the South. America in Black and White by Stephan and Abigail Thernstrom tries in 700 pages to update the pioneering work on race relations in the 1940s, Amer- ican Dilemma by Gunnar Myrdal.
An extract from the new book in the New Republic was headed, rather tongue-in-cheek: "The good news about race relations - we have overcome." The authors do not go that far but their message, based on opinion polls, is that white racism has greatly diminished over 50 years.
But they condemn the affirmative action policy promoted by liberals as a disaster. The authors claim that it has only stirred up resentment among whites and has done little for blacks whose improved lot is due more to the post-second World War economic boom.
Gen Colin Powell is perceived as a "symbol of the American Dream fulfilled". But "the majority of black public figures adopt a posture like Jesse Jackson's, presenting themselves as voices from across the racial tracks, spokesmen for black rage, for emotions that allegedly only blacks can truly feel", the white Thernstroms sadly comment.
For all that, last weekend on Washington's Mall, thousands of white and black men prayed together that racial inequality would disappear. There was no rage and much love.