Pluralism is our strength
In 1992, while Los Angeles was seething with race riots over the police killing of the black ex-convict Rodney King, Vice President Dan Quayle of the first George Bush Administration visited Japan. While there, he tried to justify America’s state of civic disarray to his mystified hosts.
TL;DR
- Dan Quayle visited Japan in 1992 amidst the Los Angeles race riots.
- He explained America's ethnic diversity as a strength compared to Japan's homogeneous society.
- This marked a potential introduction of the slogan 'diversity is our strength' into American public discourse.
- The context was the long-standing issue of race relations between black and white Americans.
- The challenge was described as integration, aiming for cooperation among citizens rather than assimilation.