Interaction between races is a fact of life.

People sweep racism under the rug and many wrongly believe that race is no longer an issue.

This is why I, as coordinator of the Shalshelet youth enrichment program at Temple Beth El, called my friend and mentor Dr. Charles Woodard to speak to the teens in the program about improving their racial intelligence.

I felt that this topic is very important, so this event was free and open to the public.

Dr. Charles Woodard is the emeritus vice president for Student Services and Campus Life at Kutztown University, a position that he held for 21 years.

He is currently president of Chick Woodard Enterprises, a consulting firm providing training in customer service, leadership development, and multicultural competence.

He holds a Bachelor of Science from Edinboro University and an Master of Arts from Wayne State University.

He earned his Ph.D. in counselor education and counseling psychology from the University of Michigan and has conducted workshops as a keynote speaker at professional gatherings.

"Because of the divisive institute of slavery in American history, we have all been touched and hurt by racism. What we need to do today, individually and collectively, is pool our resources to dismantle racism. I believe that will be the challenge that America faces in the next 30 to 40 years." Dr. Woodard said in his opening statement.

By reviewing the facts as they were in 1985 and as they are now, he shed light on the changing U.S. demographics and why racial intelligence is of the utmost importance.

"In 1985-86, I was vice chancellor of Indiana University," Woodard said . "We invited Dr. Harold Hodgkinson to speak about race relations. He had reviewed the census reports and trends, and predicted the future of racial demographics in this country. The trends he explained are summarized in a handout that each of you have."

According to the handout, Hodgkinson predicted that from 1985-2000, cities would switch to "minority majorities."

He also predicted that whites would soon be the minority.

According to Woodard, most of Hodgkinson's predictions came true; he even underestimated some of his early predictions.

"I never thought that African Americans would be surpassed in population by Hispanics in my life-time…the handout explains that, every day in this country, 40 teen-age girls have their third child; most are Hispanics. Birth rates indicate that we will soon have a non-white majority in this country, and the majority will be Hispanic…Whether you like it or not, you will have racial encounters in your school, careers, and community. You have to develop these skills. Simply hoping that it will improve won't work. These interactions are going to happen in your life. I want you to be skilled at dealing with them," Woodard said.

Woodard claims that Hodgkinson foresees a nationwide "minority majority" before 2040.

Current and recent media discussions like the George Zimmerman case and the drunken racist slurs of Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver, Riley Cooper, stressed that openly voicing private thoughts and opinions can cause trouble by involving an entire race in a personal disagreement.

He referenced a book by Kimberle Crenshaw, Luke Harris, and George Lipsitz entitled "The Race Track" to describe the term "racial intelligence" as a set of acquired skills and knowledge, independent from one's standard intelligent quotient, that allows one to navigate racial encounters.

He also reviewed hundreds of text book, online, and dictionary definitions to derive his own meaning for diversity, a term that has been increasingly associated with race issues.

Woodard defines diversity as "seeing and accepting differences, distinctions, and dividing lines without making judgment."

He claims that it is these judgments, or stereotypes, that cause people to make poor decisions when it comes to racial encounters.

"When you see me, the first thing you see regarding my identity is the color of my skin. Don't make judgments based on that. I have more in common genetically with any white person than I do with anyone in my own race," he said.

Woodard explained that he regularly has to deal with discrimination when he goes shopping in his casual attire.

"I have been wrongfully stopped six times in my life for shoplifting because security made a hasty judgment based on the color of my skin," Woodard said. "Each time I shop in my casual attire I can tell the cameras are watching me from the moment I enter the store. I have even had to tell security guards, after they realized their mistake, not to prejudge a person based on the color of their skin."

Readings from the book "Two Faced Racism" by Leslie Picca and Joe Feagin emphasized Woodard's point that even people who think they are tolerant may hold prejudices of which they are unaware.

He also used passages from this book to show that racism is not dead, and that even though many whites feel it is no longer an issue, it is still a hot button topic for non-whites.

After his anecdotes, readings, and commentary, he tested the participants' racial intelligences using hypothetical racially charged situations from a test devised by Crenshaw, Harris, and Lipsitz.

The audience discussed each hypothetical before responding.

The teens and adults generally responded correctly and impressed Dr. Woodard with their racial intelligence.

Racial intelligence, according to Dr. Woodard, is not constant.

Unlike standard I.Q., it can improve or decrease over time.

He urged the participants to remember that racism not only means having baseless negative opinions about skin color, but having the power to act on those negative ideas.

He wants people to know that it is within their ability to improve their racial intelligence by practicing their multicultural sensitivity skills regularly.