In the News

Thompson deserves thanks

Post-Bulletin editorial

December 22, 2005

The city of Rochester owes a debt of gratitude to George Thompson, who will step aside next month as executive director of the Diversity Council.

Thompson, a retired IBMer, has been a steadying influence on the Diversity Council and in his role as a long-time community leader.

Rochester has become a much more racially diverse community since Thompson arrived here in 1968, and that grwth has created some problems, including violent clashes between Somalis and whites in 1996.

Those conflices and the racial tension that resulted prompted the Diversity Council, under Thompson's direction, and other community leaders to develop the Not in Our Town campaign.

Not in Our Town denounced racial violence and raised community awareness about race-related conflict.

Thompson was also involved in the Diversity Council's Prejudice Reduction Workshops, which last year reached more than 15,000 students in Rochester's schools.

Rochester is a better place to live thanks to Thompson's efforts.

© 2005 Post Bulletin. Used by permission.

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