And listen. Really good.

Nice to have a black man living in my neighborhood. He's a token. A one and only. I really paid him no attention these past five years. Moreorless thought of it as no big deal. But I'm coming to realize it's a big deal. A step in the right direction. We need a more integrated neighborhood. More blacks. That would make us more liberal. Politically speaking. Less conservative. I chatted with Sherman yesterday. About what it's been like for a black man. Not only living in the neighborhood. But in America. For his 53 years. His life started in Missouri. And he remembers discrimination in many ways. He became cognizant of racist ways in the 5th grade. He knows it's difficult for a black man getting a job. Unemployment rates are twice as high for blacks than for whites. Yes, blacks still aren't treated as equals. Any more than women are. Maybe discrimination is more subtle in modern America. But it's still there. It's still discrimination. It's still racism. Yes, America is still a racist society. Despite Obama being president. And I'm sure there are racists living in my neighborhood. And Sherman knows it, too. One can't grow up black without knowing it. But some of us whites ignore it. Easy for us to do. But I know that if I were the same guy I am now, but with a different skin color, my life would have been dramatically different. I would have been denied some of my jobs. Just because I was black. No other reason. That ain't fair. And Sherman knows he's been denied jobs and certain places to live and other opportunities. Only because he's black. He's talked to me about it. He ain't bitter. He knows things are getting better. But still, there's a long way to go. America is still a racist country. Being black is a far different experience than being white. Even in my neighborhood. Anyway, Sherman and I are becoming friends. Rather than just mere acquaintances. We talk. About what it's been like. For a black to have lived in Missouri and Carbondale in Illinois and Biloxi in Mississippi and in St. Paul and now in Forest Lake in Minnesota. Indeed, it's been quite an experience. I wonder how many of my neighbors know the intimate details. Really know what it means to be black in America. I'd recommend that they talk to Sherman. And listen. Really good. --Jim Broede