Azizi, the point that I was trying to make - and I have a very bad habit of trying to say things in brief sound bites - is that each generation moves a bit closer to my ideal of a color-blind nation. And, just to clarify, I don't mean that people shouldn't be aware of their histories and heritages, but that this should not/will not really matter in terms of their personal interactions, job prospects, where they live and go to school, and so forth.

The experiences that you and I have had, each in our own ways, are different from those our children are having, and different yet from what my grandchild-to-be will encounter. Things are better - I can remember separate-but-equal drinking fountains - but they certainly haven't gotten to where I think they should be. Places like Pittsburgh may well be (ok, they are) further behind in this transition than others (in the deep south, for example) and, since I am a westerner, I won't/can't make a judgment as to why that is.   Jenn, who moved into the city from Harmarville when she was 11, has nothing much positive to say about the attitudes toward minorities there when she was growing up - especially among blue collar "ethnics" - and I don't know that her generation there has changed much. Hopefully, the next generation has moved on, at least a little.

Where we live now, in Albuquerque, the under-30 generation seems to socialize freely across groups. Of course, we are about 40% Hispanic, 45% "white" non-Hispanic and 15% "all other", so situations differ.