No “card” in the human race!
I was always taught by my parents to treat people on the merit of their deeds and not on the color of their skin. They grew up in the late 1930’s and the 1940’s and early ’50’s in Birmingham Alabama and the almost southern town of Cairo, Illinois. They moved to Minnesota in the 1950’s when the population of people of color, specifically African-Americans, was very low. They managed to handle themselves with grace and class during these difficult times in our country.
I know who I am and what my worth is because of that grace and class that my parents and their parents showed. Race and “the race card” is so outdated in almost 2011. But because of tough times economically and continued lack of education for many groups of people, race has continued to be made more relevant than the behavior of human beings. Being a human being is the common link that we as Homo Sapians all have. The color of our skin, our economic standing, religion, education(or lack thereof), and our experience make up everything outside of that common link. As a teacher,I work every day to help try to have people focus more on who the person really is, not what his or her color is.
-Keith Johnson-
Abu Dhabi
See more RACE CARDS @ The RACE Card
Michele Norris is the host of NPR’s All Things Considered and the author of The Grace of Silence.
You can find it it your local book store or you can order it online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Powell’s or IndieBound
