This presidential election was supposed to unite the races.  Post-race America lay before us.  The wound of racism would be healed.  Equal employment opportunity could flourish.  Maybe not.

A recent New York Times/CBS News poll shows the race divide between blacks and whites has grown deeper.  Although this poll focuses on the presidential election and the effect of Senator Obama on race relations, there’s much to be learned by employers and employees. 

Nearly 60% of blacks say race relations are bad; 40% say there’s been no progress recently in eliminating race discrimination; 70% say they’ve encountered a specific instance of discrimination; and 64% say that whites have a better chance of getting ahead.  The white percentages are polar opposite.

Blacks and whites agree that workplaces aren’t integrated.  Blacks hang with blacks.  Whites hang with whites.  If you don’t believe it, go into a company lunch room and take a look.  At certain tables, you might as well have a sign that says “blacks only” or “whites only.”

When it comes to the election, 89% of blacks support Obama, while only 2% support McCain.  Among whites, Obama has 37% of the vote, compared with 46% for McCain.  This isn’t surprising or alarming.  Since there’s never been an African-American president, it’s understandable that a high percentage of blacks would favor Obama.  If this is still true in 10 or 20 years, it won’t only be alarming, but it may show that the race divide is insoluble. 

With statistics like these, employers can expect race discrimination charges and lawsuits to continue to be filed.  More important, employers can expect racial tensions to negatively affect efficiency, productivity, collegiality, unity–the bottom line.  So, what’s an employer to do?

The usual answers are diversity training, discrimination and harassment training, a so-called affinity group for African-American employees, an affirmative action hiring and promotion policy, enforcement of equal opportunity policies, having at least one African-American in the C-Suite and at least one on the board, joining the Urban League, and getting an award from the NAACP.  Let me suggest some different answers.

Training about the history of race relations, including slavery and Jim Crow.  Training by your own black and white employees about black perceptions of race discrimination and white skepticism of those perceptions.   Non-affinity groups composed of roughly equal numbers of whites, blacks, Hispanics and other ethnic groups led by an executive.  Equal opportunity hiring and promotions.  Emphasis on the leadership of equal opportunity rather than its enforcement.  More color in the C-Suite and on the board (if you have at least one black, you’re likely to have only one black).  Leading the Urban League.  Giving the NAACP an award.

Or we can do the usual and hope that if Obama is elected, things will change.  In light of the recent poll results, one person, even if he’s President, can’t close the race divide.  It’s up to everyone, and what better testing ground than the workplace.  Maybe we start in the lunch room.