WASHINGTON (AP) - Assistant Attorney General Deval L. Patrick, resigningas civil rights chief after helping craft a policy to preserve affirmativeaction, says integration and racial tolerance in America are in jeopardy.

``I think there is a tremendous amount of ambivalence on the question ofintegration in all kinds of American communities today,'' Patrick said inan interview after he announced his resignation Thursday. ``That is a threatto the vitality of American democracy.''

``The whole issue of tolerance seems to be in jeopardy,'' the 40-year-oldhead of the Justice Department's civil rights division added. ``But I'mnot without hope. There is a tremendous reservoir of goodness in the Americanpeople, but it has to be called forth - by parents over the breakfast tableand by our leaders.''

Patrick announced his decision at Attorney General Janet Reno's weekly newsconference. Calling him ``one of the finest public servants I have everknown,'' Reno said, ``Deval's job has been to be the voice of so many peoplein America who feel that they do not have a voice.''

In a statement later, President Clinton said, ``The country will miss hisable service, but we can all be proud of the many accomplishment he leavesbehind, including his work at the forefront of my administration's effortto reform affirmative action programs.''

One of the administration's senior black officials, Patrick said he wouldleave office in January and is looking for a job.

``My family's in Boston, and I've been commuting'' since they moved backthere in August 1995, Patrick said in an interview. ``This was a hard decisionbecause I love this job. But I miss my kids; I love my wife, and I needto be home.''

After the Supreme Court tightened the standards for affirmative action programsto remedy past discrimination, Patrick helped the administration designmodifications that Clinton said would ``mend, not end'' affirmative action.A major Pentagon minority contracting program was ended; others were continuedunder new controls.

Patrick said a successful California ballot proposition ending state affirmativeaction would not affect federal affirmative action there, like minorityhiring efforts required of federal contractors such as the University ofCalifornia.

``What is really at issue, is whether ... integration is still a nationalobjective.'' Patrick told the news conference.

``We're going to have to find our way to each other across all these differences,''he said in the interview. ``When we have at different times in Americanhistory, they have been some of the most uplifting times in American history.''

``I don't know if racism is increasing, but there is more hostility on thesurface,'' he added. ``Across my desk, I see the shootings, beatings, crossburnings, intimidation, hiring and firing decisions and housing bias. Ourhousing testing program catches people on tape doing things we thought wereover.''

Reno and Patrick announced a record settlement - $1,345,000 from the ownersof 10 South Florida apartment complexes - in a case where the governmentsent test couples to check on housing bias.

Under Patrick:

-A record 10 cases were filed against lending bias; record increases inloans to qualified minority borrowers followed.

-A task force on church fires arrested more than 110 people in 80 firessince 1995.

-Two state-supported military colleges were forced to admit women, the VirginiaMilitary Institute and The Citadel in South Carolina.

-The disabled got new access to the Empire State Building, movie theaters,rental cars, sports stadiums and restaurants.

A partner in a Boston law firm, Patrick took this post after Lani Guinierstepped aside over criticism of her writing about racial quotas.