Also, there’s a lot about racism on this blog already. That’s one of the main reasons I blog – that and to promote my poetry, some, but not most, of which is about race.

As far as a list, that’s a tall order. One that won’t be filled today. But to start off, if you want to fight racism, you might want to begin by

1. Reading a good African American history book. I recommend “Before the Mayflower” by Lerone Bennett Jr. or ” From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African American” by John Hope Franklin. Learn American history from another point of view. And I am warning you, in the beginning, you will think you are reading fiction: You are not.

2. Locating and befriending one African American. Get to be good enough friends that you can talk about race without loosing his/her friendship. If blacks go to your church, this is fine. But this warning, the reason black and white Pentecostals can worship together so well is they never talk about race. I don’t know that you are Pentecostal or that you even have a church, so this is just a warning.

3. Learning the difference between individual and institutional (systemic) racism. Determine for yourself whether you are a racist or whether you just live in a racist country (city, whatever). In this age of political correctness, few people use ethnic slurs that were common prior to the Civil Rights Movement. We mask racism quite well. Determine for yourself whether you are a racist or a recovering racist. Racism is the “sin in high places” or at least one of its expressions.

Okay. So i didn’t answer your question the way you want me to. If you give a man rice, he eats and is not hungry, but when he gets hungry again,he has no more rice. If you teach a man to sow rice and give him seed, he learns to farm and eats again and again. Likewise, if you give a man a list, he accomplishes what’s on it and says, “the problem is back.” If you give a man the tools to educate himself, each time a new problem rises, he finds new ways to work toward the goal, which is equality.

“Study to show thyself a workman who need not be afraid. . . ” (II Timothy 2:15 Why do people think that means read and study nothing but the Bible?

And let me say this, you do not have to be for Barack Obama to be a recovering racist. And you don’t have to give up your job and house, unless God asks that of you.

Have a great day.