Wouldn't it be great if race weren't the first characteristic we checked off upon meeting a new person! But it still is, no matter who we are. It's about clan, it's about tribe, and the negative aspects of this way we identify ourselves gets exacerbated when there are hierarchies: when one race predominates over another.
In America there is no meritocracy, not yet, not even close, so let's not pretend that race doesn't play an enormous role in decisionmaking, both public and private.
And as the Judiciary hearings begin today into the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor, think about all of the code words that will be used, both brazen and more subtle, to distinguish her being Puerto Rican as either a plus or a minus.
Listen. Listen carefully.
And then read the New York Times this morning. In a front page story, a reporter disingenuously wonders why unemployment has hit African Americans so much worse in New York than people without color.
By the end of March, there were about 80,000 more unemployed blacks than whites, according to the report, even though there are roughly 1.5 million more whites than blacks here.
It was that question from an African American reporter at a news conference last month, asking what the President was doing for men and women of color, when President Obama, who likes to ignore the issues of race, stumbled for the first time, claiming that the stimulus package was helping everyone. Well, it isn't. It doesn't seem to be helping anyone except for the bankers, frankly. And it isn't helping people of color because African Americans have the least job seniority, security, and are often employed in marginal industries that are heavily dependent upon a soaring economy.
If we all listen, we might learn about the hidden advantages that skin color offers or withholds, and find some room to grow inside ourselves.
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