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Finding ways to alleviate racial tension is an important societal issue. A well-established strategy is to increase positive contact between members of different racial groups, which is hypothesized to lead to improved racial attitudes if the contact takes place under certain conditions. Bridging racial divides, however, has historically been a difficult process. Leisure settings can be ideal environments for interracial interaction to occur due to qualities of free choice and self-determination. This study focuses on a specific type of leisure environment, community gardens located in urban settings. More specifically, the purpose of the study was to examine whether urban community gardens are perceived as spaces in which people of different races can successfully integrate. The study also sought to examine race and its relationship to perceptions, motivations, and benefits of community gardening. The study focused on African American and White gardeners in St. Louis.
KEYWORDS: Leisure settings, community gardens, race, interracial interaction.
Introduction
Race relations between Black and White Americans continue to be a serious issue in today's society and some believe after decades of struggle, the racial climate between these two groups has not significantly improved (Kohatsu, Dulay, Lam, Concepcion, Perez, Lopez, & Euler, 2000). Recent events such as racially related deaths, police brutality, and anti-affirmative action proposals have augmented an increasingly visible chasm between the two groups (Kohatsu et al., 2000). Despite these tensions, many White Americans continue to under-estimate the existence of racial disparities (Dovidio, Gaertner, Kawakami, & Hodson, 2002) and endorse the idea that America is a country of equal opportunity for all racial groups (Robinson & Ginter, 1999; Sears, 1998). For example, between 40% and 60% of Whites responding to a recent survey (depending on the question asked) viewed the average Black American in the United States as faring about as well, and often better, than the average White American (Morin, 2001). Conversely, Dovidio, Gaertner, Kawakami, and Hodson (2002) reported in a recent public poll (Gallup, 2001) that nearly half of African Americans (47%) indicated they were treated unfairly in their own community during the previous month. Further, Sigelman and Welch (1993) found in their examination of interracial contact and levels of hostility that 26% of African Americans, compared to only 5% of Whites, estimated most White Americans share...