James Evans, chairman of the Salt Lake County Republican Party, grew up as an African-American in South Carolina and said he and Buttars are both among those who "applaud the defeat of segregation."

He said Buttars has always treated him with respect as a colleague and he believes Buttars was simply trying to explain that the implementation of Brown v. Board wasn't perfect.

"We should discuss where the pitfalls have been so we can become even better when we can try to bring different groups into integration," Evans said.

Archie Archuleta, chairman of the Utah Coalition of La Raza, was among minority community leaders concerned about Buttars' comments on Brown v. Board. He said Buttars is misguided if he believes racism is no longer an issue, though he added that today's segregation in Utah generally has more to do with class than race.

"We have segregated schools all up and down the Wasatch Front," Archuleta said. "If you think about the number of kids in west-side schools and on the east side, of course they're segregated."

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com