Ms. Norris,
Am enjoying your book and pondering its meaning for today. As a 70-year-old black man who has managed to navigate the shoals of American life, I can only say that the issue of race will always be part of the American experience, always. It is this country’s dna. (As you no doubt know, it was race and color until recent decades when, although the designation of “race” has come under more scrutiny in American culture, “color” has become more important in determining outcomes. I laugh at those who posit some kind of “post-racial” America, as if that were even possible. Especially for those whites who believe the “promised land” has been reached (and for those blacks, especially the so-called “biracial” ones, who think they are living in a race-neutral environment), one need only observe their response when asked: “So, you and your family wouldn’t mind being perceived as “black” in American eyes because your opportunities and living experience would not change?”
With that preamble, here are some suggestions:
In America’s DNA, always will be
In American’s DNA, never going away
Post-racial America? Never going to happen
Seriously, you wouldn’t mind being black?
Race now irrelevant; don’t be ridiculous
Race unimportant; you must be joking
I’m biracial; not when you’re seen
Black is beautiful, but whites disagree
As you can see, there so many combinations to describe the pernicious effects of race in America that has permeated our existence for hundreds of years, is still with us, and will always be with us. After all, the first thing immigrants to this country learn is that African Americans hold the lowest place in American society.
Sorry for going on. Good luck with your book.
-Joseph Ferguson
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