You could NEVER marry a black person or you'd be 'kicked out of town' nor could a protestant marry a Catholic or vice versa. You could count the number of blacks and asians who lived in my hometown on one finger.
Yes,it was a pretty myopic way to live and hardly a realistic preparation for the"real"world.
While I diasagree with government getting into the business of mandating"diversity"and think that the whole concept of"multiculturalism"has been abused by the PC dogmatists,the bottom line is that I enjoy living and working around others not of my ethnic or economic background.
It can get sticky and tense sometimes.No doubt about it.Yet the Great American Experiment of people all over the world joining together to build this very unique cultural and ethnic mosaic(sorry for the expression.I don't like David Dinkins either)is like no other in history.