Race and Obama’s Second Term — Part I

One of the most common questions I get — frequently turning up in comments here on The Huffington Post — is, “Why do you keep talking about race?”

Personally, I’d say a better question is, “Why does America try so hard not to talk about race?” As our first and only nonwhite president begins his second term, we might want to think about that, since issues with a strong racial component will be on his plate whether anyone likes it or not.

The people who object to discussing race and ethnicity usually offer reasoning something like this: “In America, race isn’t supposed to matter. We’re all equal, right? Even bringing up this subject is divisive. Talking about race goes against the effort to treat everyone the same.”

Except, it doesn’t.