Question to all in attendance.

America was founded with a Constitution and basic Christian Values. The problem of race has been discussed since this country was founded. I hope Senator Obama does some more research on Black America because just using Dr. Kings speeches isn't the full story. He doesn't address the thousands of Whites who died for all blacks including himself to have the freedoms we do today. The comments like the ones Obama is speaking that keeps racism alive in America. Now if the truth were told by our Leaders things might change. The youth today don't know the pass by experience on by what's taught. When Freshman Senator Obama address himself as the Black candidate it helped open the door of racism for the racist. Now if only he had known the struggle and sacrifices of those before him and address himself as an American the topic of his color might not had been an issue. But as he was raised overseas and then in Hawaii as an upper income child with no knowledge of what's it was like for African Americans I understand his actions.

If Americans hold themselves to be God's children of all races and religions as taught it's really simple.
All other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best."  As in Occam Razor, God created man/woman thereby were are all from the same. We see God's creations as flowers which come in all colors. We see God's creations of animals that are different. Why wouldn't God make humans in all colors too.  This indifference isn't a problem unless you are trained to think of it as a problem. I liken it to two men who have never seen each other and are different colors. To live they must save each other. Are they going to die because of the color of their skin or live?  History has shown millions of times when faced with such a decision humans with the love of God in them will join together and live. We saw the attack on 9/11. The planes didn't look to attack a race of Americans the attack was done to all Americans regardless of race, creed or color.  People didn't look to help a person because of their color, all reached out to help other Americans.  A person isn't born racist their taught. Our current President/V.P. allow and teach racism and that spreads by our Media, Military, schools and all walks of life in America.  Children learn first from their parents and then from the world. We have seen more Leaders and Media using racism and sexism then ever before. When you act and teach racism/sexism the society follows that lead.
For those who choose to read and look at the Civil Rights Movement is a perfect example of how well this country can do when all races work together. I was so proud of Thurgood Marshall when he won the case Brown vs Board of Education and honored his fellow attorneys who just happen to be White.  Even Dr. King spoke of his Dream of all colors yet people seen to skip that part maybe by choice.  Until we accept we are really one people nothing was change.

Jackie -

Have you read Obama's first book "Dreams from my Father"? Barack was a scholarship child in school in Hawaii,and went to several colleges here in America and later to Law School at Harvard on his own - he and Michelle only recently paid off all those college loans - you can check their financials.

Incidentally one sector of American life seems to be making progress about the races of it's participants.  I'm talking about Sports - particularly golf and baseball  - think Tiger Woods and Derek Jeter.  They are rarely if ever referred to by their 'color' but always by their accomplishments.

Now, that's progress.

What are the panelists' opinions about MSNBC analyst Pat Buchanan's response to the Barack Obama speech on race, entitled, "A Brief for Whitey" which is posted on his blog at http://buchanan.org/blog/?p=969.  Thank you for your consideration.

Here's my questions for the panel to consider.

What can all of America do to ensure equal opportunities for all men and women and boys and girls regardless of race?

Why don't African American mothers and fathers take a more active stance in education for their children at a national level?

Why don't more African American and Latio parents take a more active stance on crime in America and fight it on a national scale?

Thank you for your thoughts in advance.

My question for the panel:
Why do you think more African American's aren't expecting better for themselves and the next generation?  That is how it used to be in this country.  If you came here from another planet you would think all blacks are either criminals, basketball players or singers.  I know blacks who are lawyers, doctors, politicians, teachers, accountants and business owners. Why don't more young blacks (especially young men) look to these professionals as role models??  Why don't their families hold these professionials up as examples of what you can become?  We cannot all become sports or music superstars.  It is heartbreaking to see the wasted potential of so many young people.

I need to have a voice that can be heard. I believe more people listen to and believe Brian Williams more that any other reporter. I would like to know how a Humana Medical Policies can get away with picking and choosing cpt codes at random to avoid paying claims for the insured?

Is there any talk of some kind of compensation for our troops who are stopped lossed. I believe this is
an important issue. Our government expects these soldiers to honor their contract, it is only right that the government should also do so. These soldiers
have gone back on another deployment without complaining.

My question for the panel.  How can the news and the cable channels justify the demonazation of Reverend Wright?  I am white but I could see how unfair it was to show just a few snippets out of 30 years of preaching and to show it over and over and to talk about it over and over. And, it is still going on.  Shouldn't someone have shown some of a normal sermon from the Reverend to be a little more balanced?  Racism has certainly not gone away.  I was appalled by comments from so called news pundits. Some of them didn't seem to have a clue as to how offensive they were.

E Adams, Phoenix, Arizona

I grew up in a small, rural town and cherish the history of my modern day ancestors.  However, Gen Y African Americans seemed to think Baby Boomers' attempts to educate them on the struggles our people experienced is simply trying to teach African Americans how to be victims or to look for discrimination.  What will it take to turn the minority of people of color to cherish this history...into a majority of people who appreciate and thrive BECAUSE of this history?

We all have forgotten the story of the Civil Right movement.  It was not about freeing the color man but, it was about Americans reciving their rights as Americans.  There were people of all colors and national origins during this time. (Example) White, Jews, Blacks, Puerto Ricans and others.  After the Mechabellian act that kill the dream the memories still alive.  Life is not about race but about is being an American and skin color those not difine how much more of an American you are.  Thank sincerely yours; Jose E. Rosa-Suarez, Ellisville, Ms.

Is there a double standard?  African Americans call themselves, niggers, hos, thugs and bitches in the hip hop culture.  Does this same culture apply zero tolerance to these images and imitations done by whites on college campuses and office parodies which inadvertently make their way to newscasts and the internet?  Are African Americans offended when their creation is perpetuated on the other side of the river by whites?

As I read questions like "Why do you think more African American's aren't expecting better for themselves and the next generation?" and "Why don't African American mothers and fathers take a more active stance in education for their children at a national level?" or "Why don't more African American and Latio parents take a more active stance on crime in America and fight it on a national scale?" I am appalled. I am an African American father who has done all of these things. I am not a criminal, I'm nopt particularly good at sports and though I lovce music , I am mor partial to the eagles than 50 cent.

My question is: When is the human race going to grow up? Us vs' Them has not worked for us on an evolutionary scale, yet we insist on contiuing to use an out dated model. We lump people into exclusives groups by asking question why don't they or when will they. How soon until we realize it one race, inclusive. When will We?

Thanks

OBAMA and his camp seem to be pushing the race card:i.e. lady getting ticket for an "obffensive" remark "monkeys" to a black parent ms.obamas camp asking for more whites to the front of the bus for pix..obama seems to give alot of praise to his father who deserted him and his mother while his geandma is a "typical" white person yes obama needs to be there

Dear Panel,
I teach special education English and History in South Bend,Indiana. I have to beg my black students every day to come to school.  They are smart, but will not acknowledge their responsibility to receive an education.
These kids have more opportunities in our high school than anyone could imagine.  My students want to fail and brag about their arrest records, and living at juvenile centers. This year will be my 39th year as a teacher. I have no hope for these students, yet I go every day, and they call me names etc. and put their heads on their desks because they have no bedtime and ride around shooting at other cars all night.

I have two questions for the panel: Given the fact that Christian Africans came to America as indentured servants and had their status changed to permanent slavery, and were set apart from White indentured servants to become a permanent underclass; are you surprised that African Americans and other power minority groups are still kept down by racist attitudes that allow the White power structure to maintain illgotten social gains, and what can be done about this problem? A second related question:  Since most, if not all gang activity in America, regardless of the race of the members, is predicated upon exclusion from the best society has to offer and is often started as a response to providing for communities that are ignored by the larger society, what can be done to bring this to light and change this situation that has gone on way too long?

if Bush says that he didn't know that gas was almost 4.00 a gallon than why isn't he trying to bring the prices down?

More questions for the panel:

Why do people speak of race as a reality? This has been scientifically proven as a myth. The only race of peopl on Earth are Homo Sapiens.  Clearly, every belief we have about other "races" is based on stereotypical ignorance and a social design created by  the 1% majority that rules this country that allows them to stay in power. Query: If Africans and Caucasian Americans stopped fighting (especially the poor and disenfranchised ones) and started working together what would happen to the power structure in this society? If we really don't get along, why were such drastic measures taken at the inception of our nation to set us apart and at odds from each other? Why were there laws needed to keep us apart as recently as the 1960's? Hmmmm......What role is the media playing in keeping up the illusion that racial groups are and should be enemies? What is the media's agenda? Who does the media represent and work for?  

My son attends an elementary school in Brooklyn, where the majority of students are African Americans. Although he has never personally felt any bias; in fact, the opposite, his peers look on to him as one of their own and have never commented on his Chinese/Italian background. However, the parents are quite different. The issue of race is heavily on the minds of the African American parents, their opinions are much like those expressed by Rev. Wright. Their feelings are very real and I can see some reality behind their fears. Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" has obviously not come far enough by both white and black communities. The blame game has to stop and real solutions must happen on basic levels like giving young students more opportunities for employment; family support when there's none; provide skill training; and getting in back to some old fashion values in communities and schools. It's a shame in this land of plenty that are nation's most vulnerable drops out of school and they see no opportunities for their future. Quite a sad state.

First of all I would like to say that I am a person who enjoys meeting people and becoming friends with people, I am a very out going and caring person.  I was raised color blind and continue to raise my son the same.  People are not defined by what color their skin is but by who they are and what they do, more over by their honest and following through on what they say.  That being said, I am how ever tired of it only being talked about blacks being slaves and blacks straggling to make it. Slavery had no color and was male or female.  I have decedents in my family tree that were slaves from Poland and Ukranian.  I have struggled very hard as a single parent to raise my child and continue to struggle since I was injured 4.5 years ago while saving a patients life in the waiting room of the Drs. office I worked at.  Now my Son and I live on 711.00 dollars a month after me working and achieving 2 college degrees and paying into the system for several years. Lifes struggles do not have a color as well.  There are children out there that are trying to survive on their own because they have been abandoned or are placed into the child welfare system, they remain alone and scared everyday and that is not because of the color of their skin, it is because of unfair circumstances that have ben shoved into their lives with out wanting them or asking for them.  There are women who are being illegally sold for sex and brought over to the states against their will but they have to do what they are told or they will die and sometimes they die anyway.  This has nothing to do with their color of skin it has to do with some sick people out there that only care about making money at someone elses life expense, and this still goes on today.  There are children everyday that are exploited and go through a living hell before they are killed and that is not because of their color of skin, again it is because there are sick people out there that think they have the right to pray on innocent children.  These are issue that need to be taken care of now because this is still going on now.  These topics are not history they are current realities that need attention.  There is still slavery to this day also, as in the form of sweat shops to make cheep clothing and then sell for big prices while the poor worker who hasen’t slept or eaten in days maybe gets 1.00 for a weeks work and if you are a female who has a child the child is made to work as well as soon as they get old enough.  Not that I send any disrespect to anyone who had a family history of slavery, as I said I have decedents as well that suffered from slavery.  But, I think it is time to move on out from the past from long ago and make a change in the current issues I have mentioned that are happening right now.  Thank you for your time
Sincerely,
Vicki L. Smith
Lupton, MI

My question is: If you could give any advice to our youth today on living in a racial free world what would that advice be?

Are reparations a viable means of compensating the African-American community for ills its members have had to deal with directly or indirectly resulting from slavery? If so, how would such reparations be computed and distributed?

Obama said, that he was not afraid to talk to people, even if they do not share his point of view. He has said this time and again, yet, we hear the right-winged media, trying to make something out of nothing, when they say, Obama knows people who seem to differ from the views of the so called "mainstream". Isn't this what Obama has been trying to tell us, that we can not be afraid to know others, even if we don't agree with them. In fact, the wise thing to do is open up a dialog with those that we disagree with, in the hopes that one day, they might see a different point of view. If we only associate with those who think like us and look like us, then we can not grow. Not as a people or as a nation. The world is global and it is never going back. We all must learn to get along, even if it means talking to people that we don't like, because at that one point in time, we all benefit, if we are willing to put aside our differences and try and find common ground, in which to dialog a new future, not forgetting the past, but learning from it. At one time, we were enemies with England, but look at us today, we are friends, also, Japan, Germany, and the list goes on. None of this would be, if we hadn't learned to find common ground, and talking to an enemy is one way to pave a course to change. History has shown us that extreme enemies can become friends, but you have to be willing to talk to them and not be afraid to listen, even if you do not agree. Obama, rightly so has not just given speeches on this, he has lived it! Yes, he knows people that are controversal, he also knows countless people that are not, but the right-winged media only yells about those that seem "different". Who would have thought back in the day, that any of those countries would be friends with us, in this day and time. But they are! People, countires, ideas--the next president has to be flexible enough to understand the dynamic of the times, no one in this race for president is better suited for that, than Obama! The ultimate form of warfare, is to take an enemy and make him a friend. Someone very wise once said that and it seems to be true. Students of history are less likely to keep making the same mistake over and over again. Yes we can!

As a white parent who has adopted an African American I will be slapped periodically with prejudice in the face.  However, I couldn't love my daughter more if I gave birth to her and I do live in the south.

She is so tickled to see a black candidate and a woman candidate running for President.  I believe her life will be very different than those who came before her.

How can I raise her so that she understands the history of what has come before her but help her realize that race is no longer a barrier to what she can achieve in the future and at the same time educate others who may not be as forward thinking?

I don't understand why many black Americans seem to blame what happened to their ancestors for what is happening to some today. Seeing people cry over something that happened to one's ancestors is hard to understand. I have a family tree on both my father and mother's side of my family. I have ancestors that were imprisoned and killed for their religious beliefs. I find the history fascinating, but it doesn't make me cry. I realize that humans make mistakes and what we need to focus on is the here and now. We can learn from the past and try to do better. Blaming others doesn't help us move forward in a positive manner. We all know that slavery is wrong. Let's work together to create unity not focus on division anymore.

I am white. I teach at a prdominately black school. I have been here 24 years and I love my students. My heart breaks though, to watch them not taking advantage of the education being offered to them. We beg parents to come to conferences.We send transportation for those who will come. We reward the children for the slightest bit of good behavior or positive attitude because "their home life is not what it needs to be" I'm the P.E.teacher so I teach  every  child every day. I do every thing I can to help them be successful. All the teachers at this school want the best for these children Less then 5% of our children come from two parent homes and too many chilren are at risk.  I teach Bible School at the housing projects every summer and our church does Christmas for 200 children every year. I want to do these things. It's the right thing to do. Some child or a couple of parents a year call me a racist but I know all people are God's children. I do not think that Obama and his church have done a thing for the black community and I have no respect for him at all. I would almost vote for Mrs. Clinton before I would vote for Obama and that would be awful. Thank goodness for two parties.  

What are 3 basic things the panelists suggest that a large majority of people could do to improve race relations (for example, inviting another race to their church or their house for dinner)?

At which point does the race end? If the purpose of standardized testing is to enhance the educational growth of every child, how are students to be tested in a manner which does not label or ignore a studentsdemographic origins , low income, or cognitive developmental growth. when does theword race end and teaching begin.

Will you all please discuss how one could attend an all white church for YEARS and not question the PASTOR as to why there are not any Black members there.Maybe many would be faced with the decision to stay or leave.

What is your vision for the future?  A "color-blind" society where racial differences are the same as height differences (i.e. just another characteristic, not a stereotype), or one where differences are celebrated without being hindrances?  In either case, I think it is important, as MLK did, to be able to describe a "best-case scenario" for race relations in this country.  Then the dialog can go forward, with a purpose!

Thank you!  I look forward to the discussion!

What are urban public school systems doing to bridge the racial divide in America today?

I am a white man married to a black woman.  We have three daughters all around twenty years of age.  I have had several experiences before and during my marriage.
• My parent's and members of their generation were rather racist (on both sides).  Several members of my family did not attending the wedding.  Friends of my wife's family accused them of "being uppity" by allowing their daughter to marry a white.
• Members of my generation, while curious, were by and large accepting of us.  Although we would occasionally experience some with racist attitudes, by and large we have not had many problems although when they occur they are terrible.
• My daughters have had even less problems with their lives and friends.

With this I have two questions.

1. How common is it for blacks to criticize other blacks for "acting white" (excelling in education, interacting with whites, &c.)?
2. Do you think that the changes we wish for will move along only as new generations of people begin to have different experiences and change things or can changes occur within a person and within a generational time span?

Since the running comments are supposed to be in the context of a question moreso than a opinion, I hereby submit a question.  Why is it thaT blacks can't seem to grasp that it was their own that sold them in the first place?  The Atlantic slave trade was facilitated by the Yoruba and other powerful tribes on the west coast of Africa, their partners in this venture were the Portugese at first then the Dutch.  It is wrong to  assume the Scandinavians, Italians, British, French and other Euro-centric countries were also to blame.  The Africans traded their own as a way to commence commerce and get rid of what they considered undesirables.  This truism has to come home to rest...its not us, but YOU!!!

How do we teach these race concepts to our children? I hate to be overt about color and race differences because I feel that will accentuate their differences. Is it not enough to teach acceptance, kindness and respect?  

The race situation, in America, will never be resolved by humanity! The hatred for black people,in America, is interwoven into the fabric of this country! Every race, world wide, that has been damaged to the point where reparations was even discussed got an apology and reparations for crimes committed against them! Except black people! Why is that? If you COMPARE the DOCUMENTED FACTS, thier is NO GREATER CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY THAN SLAVERY! Over 100 million Kidnappings! Tortures! Murders! Rapes! Mutilations! Beatings! Hangings! Humiliations! Humans were treated like animals! And the really sick part of it is that they still do not think that any wrong was done and still reparations for blacks is "OUT of the Question!" Why? HATRED for blacks is why! No other reason can be found! The jewish had no problem getting thiers! Asian women prostitues even got reparations for crimes committed against them! Aboriginals in Australia are getting thier due! Everywhere the humans of the world are trying to right themselves with thier past injustices! Everywhere but here! Unfairness is a major trait in the DNA of Blue Blood Leaders in White America. The Blue Blood Leaders of this country still keep slavery alive today! Black schools are inferior to white schools! That is a fact! Check the computer to student ratios! Black areas are different from white areas! This is a fact! Check the ownership to rental ratio! Job gaps between the races are astronomical! Check the income ratio between the white household to average black household! Unemployment ratios! Education! Master degree ratios! Doctorate ratios! Paid tution to scholarship ratios! How much money has the Ivy league colleges made from slave money being used for college funds! The leaders allow to many issues to be swept under the rug! Too many white families have established thier family wealth from slavery! The great great grandchildren of this slave money are going to college and inheriting trust funds and businesses from slave money! While the great great grandchildren of the slaves have what the slaves had, nothing! An American bank admits that it made money from slavery but gets to keep it and now it is swept under the rug! Yet a Swiss bank admits that it had jewish money and property from the Holocaust and not only did they have to give it all up plus interest, they had to apologize and grovel and beg for mercy and forgiveness! Whats the difference? The color of the victims skin! I will bet money that shipping companies that shipped slaves for profit are still shipping cargo for profit! They are accountable! Auctioneer companies are still around! How many can be traced back to auctioning slaves? They are accountable! There are many more businesses that established wealth from free forced labor! Those wages have to be now paid! Many Immigrants came here but how many were kidnapped and forced to come here? How many of you would work for your employer for a lifetime for no money? But the good thing is that the scales will soon be balanced! The Creator does not look good upon unfairness Blue Bloods!

Questions to the panel. Since, America was basically built on the backs of slaves, why is it justifiable for the government to give money to the Native Americans, but halt when it comes to reparations for African Americans. Secondly, has anyone taken the time to do a comparative study of each one of Billy Graham's and Jeremiah Wright's sermons to see that they may be more alike than different. Whose to say a concrete rose is not the same as a lily in the valley. Lastly, nepotism and cronism exist in every sector of our society, but it is especially prevalent when it comes to race. How can we as a united people eliminate this in the workplace, social sector and the government?

My question is about stereotypes.  Are stereotypes justified by concrete evidence in this country?  If not, where do stereotypes derive from?  What, if anything can be done to change negative stereotypes?  

What can the panel say to give me hope that our country will eventually move forward in the fight to end both outright and subtle racism?  I work in the public school system to work towards a truly integrated environment, and I am beginning to feel that the road is a very long one, indeed.

To the slave master's family:  1.Do you see your family's prosperity as being a direct result of your "crop" of slaves? 2.In light of the debate on reparations, what do you see as your family's responsibility to make whole those families you destroyed/exploited?

This is a fascinating search.  I am a white woman with an impressive genealogical research, with references to slave ownership on some branches. I even have a small anecdotal story that gives some insight into the relationship the family had with one slave who chose to stay with my family after emancipation. (If real choice existed then.)  I don't think I would ever attempt to search out the black ancestors of this former slave.  As a fan of genealogy I know I would want to know this little story if I were them, but as a white woman I couldn't imagine the strength it would take to tell some stranger, "Many years ago my family owned your family and I have a little story..."  I think both Brian Wilsons need a round of applause. We have to get past both the guilt and resentment of slavery to embrace the possibility Martin Luther King's Dream, or Obama's dream, or the dream we all hold for America.  I look forward to watching and learning what both men can teach me.

Reading on-line this remarkable, most amazing and courageous story one would want to ask and require answers tonight, to such as; "Why would Reverend Wright have gotten stuck in a kind of time warp from the 50's with some of his more forceful speaking"?  This very highly educated man seems to have alot of feelings about the past humiliation, the severe abuse of not "being seen", of black folks feeling less than, of not having been offered the dignity and acknowlegement and freedom we all enjoyed.  I would guess "the church" remains a safe place for a therapeutic expression of these feelings, and we should not always be looking at the exact semantics?   I would wonder more "why wouldn't" Reverend Wright do this, after such a history, with todays leaders trying to survive and slowly work things out through the generations.   Would David A. Wilson and the panel address this please?  
I would guess Reverend Wright was on the "right" side of issues and a most positive influence for the 30 plus years he served his community.  Thank you so much.

My grandparents were born in 1881, and I was fortunate to know them well.  Their grandparents, nor anyone else in our familie's past, is there any suggestion of slave ownership.  West Tennessee was very segragated when I lived there in the 50s. I admired MLK, Jr.'s bravery, and listened to his message, and was touched & thankful for his responsible American debate.

I do not listen to Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, J. Wright, as there messages are divisive, and counter productive--in my view.

Colin Powell, Bill Cosby, Lavar (Reading Rainbow, Barbara Jordan (deceased), and Brian Gumble, & others I don't even think about race when I hear them.

The fact that slavery is a dreadful sin is accepted in America.  My family may have had less to do with slavery than some "African-Americans" have.  You are not going to lay blame on "Whites", these generations later, and help the young black Americans--or white--or of any shade, rather you will continue to foster a racial division.  It is time for the old black generation to let the young move on up based on what they have earned--though they stand on brave, broad shoulders.

How many slave owners are there records of?  Not many I bet(to many-yes).  How many slaves were first enslaved by Africans before being enslaved by a few plantation owners?  Jessie, do you think that only white men went into interior Africa to capture slaves?

The only points about studying slavery is to trace a person roots, or to learn that it should never happen again.  But it is in our modern world!  What if a slave is not black it is OK--Jesse?  I don't think you believe so, but why aren't you dealing with today's issues instead of generations ago.  Segeration is still a problen--but not slavery.

Respectfully,
Billy Bob, Florida where votes don't count unlike Chi-town where even the deads' count

Does the social-economic factor contribute to the way we treat race in America?  Our views and opinions of others are scuplted by what we have been taught, what we experienced, and what we see (i.e. media).  It appears that Americans who think logically, and accept or reject a person regardless of race are more apt to be more intellectually educated or have more experience/interactions with other races.  It is easy to believe what you see, and if negative depictions are the only images a person views then their natural acceptance or rejection of that image is prejudiced.  Look at images of races that are portrayed.  If that is the only factor involved in forming an opionion, don't you think that would be biased?

I am 32 years old. My grandparents' grandparents were slaves. So many people feel that when slavery ended, all was perfect for blacks in America. They forget that decades of Jim Crow followed, which was very real and was felt not only in the South, but in country clubs on the East Coast where they couldn't be members, in Hollywood (where you'd see a black person in the role of a domestic or a porter the majority of time). Discrimination in housing, education, employment, etc. became barriers to the success of many black families over generations, and that has not been magically erased. Strides have been made, but damage has been done. Just as the Japanese were given reparations for being held in internment camps, the African American people need an official federal apology for the systematic oppression and evils of slavery and Jim Crow. The U.S. was built on the backs of enslaved people who were denied the right to be full-fledged humans or citizens until the Constitution deemed it so. Reparations should come in the form of educational and health provisions, museums, and anti-recidivism programs throughout the country. That is the right and fair thing to do.

The African-American experience is different from every other immigrant to America.  The fact that so many people wish to ignore that fact only underlines the difference.  A certain segement of society loves to tell African-Americans to get over the past.  They can say that because they don't live the consequences of that past every day of their lives.  I believe that non-whites can make it through a whole day with out having it pointed out to them they are whatever race they happen to be.  I as an African-American over thirty has yet, to have that day.  Yes Africans sold Africans, but slavery in Africa was not the same as in America.  An African slave could be assimilated into the community, children from that slave were a part of the community; we know that was not the case here.  So those who get some comfort from saying Africans are responsible for what happened here in America; your comfort is false.  

What advice do you have for white families like ours that have adopted bi-racial or African American children?  How do we raise healthy children who respect both their birth heritage/culture and the culture/heritage they will grow up in?  Do we have a responsibility to each culture?  What is it?

Some things we have done or do include: learning about our children's heritage and culture, participating in transracial groups/organizations, reading books and having books around on African Americans, attending church services in multicultural or African American churches, and last week attending a mission retreat at the John Perkins Foundation in Jackson, Mississippi on racial reconciliation. We understand these things are just the beginning of our life time of learning.

With the exception of Bill Cosby, almost no one in the media blame the parents for anything.  If a student does not do well it is the school and lack of funding, if a teen commits a crime it is society who did not provide a better path, if an adult is on welfare it is because the system is broken.  Do the parents have no fault?  I don't care what color you are, if your parents did not teach you to be a better person you will most likely be just like them.

I teach U.S. Social Studies to 8th grade students in a predominantly white school. While we are studying slavery we read, see, and cover text and videos that use the "n" word, as well, as other racial remarks,  in recounting the history of the time. I try to teach the students that in a different time this was the terminalogy that was used but in the 21st century it is inappropriate, but they all keep asking me why they have to use it, read it, or hear it. Luckily they are shocked when when do see it and hear it. One of my students is African-American and is offended when he sees it and hears it, and I want to modify my lessons to relieve his frustration. My question is then, is it appropriate to edit history, such as the slave narratives or historic references to racial terms, so that my students do not become offended or should I let 13 and 14 year olds hear, see, and if they read text with these terms in it, read it aloud? Am I sensoring history or am I just making my students more comfortable? What do you think would serve 8th graders that need to get a sense of the time best?

My question is very serious and I hope you will take it that way.  How can we reconcile our differences and eliminate racism and hate when there exists in American today churches like Trinity who believe in Cones Black Liberation Theology, the basis of which is hate of whites, God hates whites, blacks hate whites and whites are responsible for all that has happened to blacks.. without all the rest of the details..this is plain and simple hate and racism..This is the theology that has been practiced by Wright for 30 years and Obama for 20..he mentored under wright all that time..How can anything positive happen unless these kinds of organizations are dismantled in America.. after all it is just like the KKK doctrine in reverse .. are we going backwards???

Why do some people continue to say "get over it"

To Billy Bob - You stated that you admired the courage of Martin Luther King Jr.  You also stated that you did not listen to Rev. Jackson, Rev. Sharpton, or Rev. Jeremiah Wright. You stated they were devicive.  You did admire African Americans such as Colin Powell, Bill Cosby and Barbara Jordan because you did not see race.  First of all Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was considered devicive in the 1950's and 1960's also.  The African Americans that you admire stand because the doors were kicked open for them.  Rev. Jackson and others continue to keep the doors open.  There are many succesful African Americans today because they stand on the shoulders who were willing to die for everyones freedom.  They are still willing to fight.  The African Americans that you named - still could not get a cab at night.

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