For business/client reasons, I was in North Omaha recently. A black church in "da hood" had burned to the ground. No, it was not arson or a hate crime, but bad wiring. Everything they had is gone, and though the insurance will pay out more than the building cost them, it will by no means pay the replacement price for a new building.

So a neighborhood middle-class white church, of a different denomination, simply offered the people from this black Apostolic Church the use of their building. No rent. No strings attached. Just an offer.

Then the "white folk" invited the members of the black church to their annual picnic. I was present, by specific invitation. And what I saw was wonderful. About 75 of the blacks and probably 100 of the whites, all at the picnic behaving as though there were no different skin colors, cultural differences, or religious differences. Everything from fried chicken to rhubarb-strawberry cobbler. Though most of them had never met, there were both blacks and whites sitting together at just about every picnic table, yakking it up as though they were old friends.

Everybody that was present is a richer person for the experience. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if those two churches eventually just merge.


The point?

THIS is the answer to 21st Century racism - NOT the rantings of Jesse Jackson, Loius Farrakkaan and Al Sharpton. These people are doing what Affirmative Action will NEVER be able to do.

...and we need more of it. God bless them.