The key to keeping a small city alive is the quality of life forthe people who live there said Juan Williams, senior News PublicRadio (NPR) correspondent.
Williams spoke to a crowd of students, faculty, staff and Muncieresidents who filled the seats of both Cardinal Hall A and B at theStudent Center Friday. Williams spoke about the future of Americafrom a small city's perspective. His presentation was part of thisyear's Small Cities Conference, held on Friday and Saturday.
Williams is also a political analyst for Fox News and has been awriter for the Washington Post for 23 years. He is most well knownfor his work on the famous book, "Eyes on the Prize: America'sCivil Rights Years, 1954-1965," which was the inspiration behindthe award-winning PBS documentary.
During his speech, Williams pointed out the many changes thenation is going through as a result of the technology boom and thethrive of knowledge. The fuel of small city life in America lies inthe large number of immigrants entering the country, he said, andthe new issue is how to assimilate. Relatively small areas haveincreased in population, and the knowledge industry has insisted onhigh rates of immigration.
However, Williams said, the consequence is that the newresidents tend to look down on the black and Hispanic communitythat existed before their arrival, and as a result, tension existsbetween the older minority population and the younger minoritypopulation.
"Even though we're more diverse, we're more segregated, and wehave separate operational fields and less mixing and interaction,"he said. "As we ponder the future of small cities, the key is goingto be that sense of connection and being one with each other."
Maria Williams-Hawkins, a professor in the Department ofTelecommunications and president of the Muncie Black Expo, wasimpressed by the speech.
"It was good to hear some similar perspectives," Hawkins said."I think it gave the people of Muncie more to think about in termsof immigrants moving into our community."
Ball State President Blaine Brownell said he enjoyed the speechand said it was very rare to see someone combine a lot ofcharacteristics that are rare in themselves.
"Curiosity, reflection and insight," Brownell said. "He bringsthem all together, and it is very rare to hear that nowadays."
Williams encouraged the audience to have a sense of who they areand where they came from, emphasizing that one dynamic is thechallenge of this time.
"You can't watch these pop dynamics and changes in American lifeand watch them on TV as they take place and wonder what's goingon," Williams said. "This is your moment in terms of forging thatfuture on America."
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