About twelve years ago, when Obama was elected, I believed that somehow the flames of racism would flicker out.

That was a stretch to believe that. The shots that people took at Obama starting with our current president and his birther admonitions of Obama not being an American citizen was a precursor of things to come. No president ever had to face accusations of that before Obama, and that told me all I need to know that racism was alive and well.

We're all born with a clean slate as babies. What comes after is usually by observation, or we're taught by loved ones and "well-meaning" others.