AU professor Edward Smith grew up in a Washington, D.C., where the Redskins were an all-white football team, and black children and white children could not go to the same schools.
Progress has been made since then, Smith said, but "America is always a work in progress."
Smith, the director of American Studies program in the College of Arts and Sciences, spoke to students Thursday at the Kay Spiritual Life Center.
Smith was a featured speaker along with Hilary Shelton, the director of the Washington bureau of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, at an event titled "Race Progress: Truth or Illusion?"
"Race still matters in America, unfortunately," Shelton said.
Although race relations have "moved a long way," he said, "we're still struggling from some of the remnants" of a racist past. Many blacks "still do not have access to the American Dream," he said.
According to Shelton, some of the major problems blacks still face are poverty, economic instability, high incarceration rates, low rates of home ownership and the disenfranchisement of black voters.
According to the 2002 U.S. census, 75 percent of non-Hispanic whites owned homes, while only 47 percent of blacks were homeowners. This is significant, said Shelton, because home ownership leads to economic stability and affects education rates.
"Some of you are probably here because your folks refinanced their houses," Shelton said, addressing the students at the discussion.
In addition, Sheldon cited a 2005 report from the Department of Justice that said 40 percent of all prison inmates were black, while blacks were only 12 percent of the population in the 2000 census. A 2003 census report showed that 8 percent of whites lived below the poverty line, while 24 percent of blacks lived in poverty.
"We can argue that we've moved a long way, but there's still much to be done," Shelton said.
Adam Hahn, a graduate student in the School of International Service, said the discussion about racial issues in the United States should not just be about skin color, but should be expanded to include social class.
Social disparity can be gauged by "looking at who has the 'blue collar' jobs," he said, which are moving toward "non-native people."
In comparison with some other countries, "black people [in the United States] have made huge progresses," he said. "Most progress needs to be made for immigrants to this country."
Joy Henry, a senior in the School of Communication, said she does not think people focus on racial issues as much as they should.
"Race issues don't affect people until it becomes personal," she said. "It's hurtful to know that there's still a separation between American history and black history. There's no progress"