Prayer is not allowed in schools and some even want the word "God" deleted from the Pledge of Allegiance, so strong is the desire to remove "church" from "state."

What a way to start a letter. Prayer is NOT forbidden in schools and never has been. And one has to wonder what's so wrong about wanting to restore the Pledge of Allegiance to its original form. Strange days indeed.

As to racism... it needs to be discussed, but hardly in the fashion described here.

Cheryl,

This is unfamiliar territory . . defending whites . . is it legal? I assume you want a bunch of whites to attend the workshop and disrupt the proceedings. Tell both of them I said hello.

This is one reason why I'm scared to death to send my kids to public schools. Liberal brainwashing + my taxes go to paying for it to boot. Gotta love it.

My wife and I will teach our kids about racism ourselves. We don't need some pinhead with a political agenda doing it for us.

"Yet, Guilford County Schools spent $45,000 for a reverend who leads a ministry to conduct workshops; attendance is mandatory."
Woah.. If I were a white teacher I would NOT attend and have the "UNION" back me up, if anyone was brave enough to take disiplanary action against me.
The whole thing is absurd. If white people had such a meeting, it would be called the KKK. To force white teachers to attend such a meeting is beyond my realm, and my realm goes pretty damn far out there.
In my opinion, those who scream RACISM are the very ones who are RACIST. You cant have your cake and eat it too, black people. Sorry.

Welcome to the public school system, where our administrators are full of white guilt and politicl correctness.
I'm surprised that at least one attendee is not required to commit suicide to atone for being white.
This kind of racism smacks of Jesse Jackson and Louis Farrakhan. Hate filled "preachers" like Barndt and Ruehle are racists, pure and simple, and our school system is kowtowing to their pressure.
I'm ashamed and embarrassed to live in a county that condones this racist garbage.

Dan, If this is an example of liberal BS then I'm gonna have to reclassify myself. I have always identified with most liberal views but in this case no way.

Perpetuating hate and entitlement are not liberal agendas. Having only the letter as reference it sounds as if that is what these two men are all about.

I agree with Lilly. I would not attend and would fight it out in court if it came to that.

Hey Yvonne, hope you are enjoying Southport, just can't stay away from that computer can you? I was very pleased to see that you and Lilly agree with me on this issue with the exception of my vocabulary.

I agree that perpetuating hate is no ones agenda except fringe elements of both sides a la Micheal Moore genre. I would have to disagree with you on entitlement, that is a core liberal agenda, ie. affirmative action, welfare, hate crimes, gay marriage, social services for illegal immigrants, and abortion on demand. A conservative agenda promotes self reliance, not entitlement.

Back to the schools, which are dominated by liberal ideology, I believe our school system administrators have an obsession about racism and political correctness. Witness how quickly the yanked out anything that refers to Indians last year. Their answer is to pay lots of money to pinheads like these "Reverends" (I use the term loosely)to make it all better by brainwashing our teachers, who can pass it along to students.

They also spend a lot of money to study the "achievement gap" between white & black & latino students. Pay me a few million and I can give you the answer: 1) Some children are born more intelligent than others regardless of race or economic status, it is impossible for everyone to have equal intelligence and 2) Parents have a primary responsibility in the education and discipline of their children. What a novel idea!!

We have neighbors who are black and have two really nice children. Both of them are exceeding in school, one is in programs for gifted children. Why? Because they have a mom and a dad in the home who pay attention to their education and discipline them. Imagine that!!

Unfortunately, I will probably not have the money to send my kids to private schools, so I will have the unending job of pointing out differences of opinions other than the straight liberal manta that our schools pump out. Alas, my dad tried to do the same for me, but I had to figure it out myself in my early 20's.

"Whites are like alcoholics" who "are unaware of their natural racism."

There is nothing natural or inborn about racism. It is taught and evidently the "Rev." received an extra heavy dose somewhere in his life time.

He is but one who profits from continual driving of division between races with his preaching of hate and victimization.

It has no business in any school funded by taxpayer dollars.

Interesting that this letter came out on the same day that an article appears that our Superintendent claims the schools need MORE money! This makes me wonder how many other "programs" are being paid for from money that could be used in the classrooms.

When the school system learns to use their money wisely and responsibly, I will GLADLY support increased funding. Until then, we will be throwing our money down the drain.

I wish someone in a position of authority ie: The Superintendent, County Attorney SOMEONE, ANYONE would respond to this forum.

Well, until someone just informed me, I had no idea that readers could post comments about LTE. Reckon I learned something new today.

I might suggest that those who are interested read a more detailed article (longer than 200 words) on this subject which was published in the March 31,2005 Rhinoceros Times.

Go to http://www.guilford.k12.nc.us/boe/members.htm and email the school board, I already did.

Lilly,

Sorry, but if you were a teacher in this school system, you would have to attend, if you wanted to keep your job. Terry Grier, by state law, has sole authority to terminate district employees who say or do anything not in the best interests of the district, in his sole opinion. So, you would have to attend. And, as for the union backing you up, well, there is no teachers' union in North Carolina, by state law. So, you would be on your own in dealing with Terry Grier.

Hey, Dan. You said:

"I would have to disagree with you on entitlement, that is a core liberal agenda, ie. affirmative action, welfare, hate crimes, gay marriage, social services for illegal immigrants, and abortion on demand. A conservative agenda promotes self reliance, not entitlement."

I may be wrong here, and I hope you'll correct me if am, but you vote Republican, right? If you're against affirmative action, welfare, and social services for illegal immigrants, not to mention in favor of smaller government, etc, I hope you'll stop voting Republican, because Republicans don't represent you on those views. They've controlled Congress for 10 years, and Bush has been in office over four years, and yet we have larger government now than before, and we still have affirmative action, welfare, and services for illegal immigrants.

If you haven't done so already, check out the Libertarian Party, who would put an end to those things in no uncertain terms.

Go to the following website and you will see how far out this Barndt guy is. It's a one page writing from him about how every single aspect of daily life is racist.

http://www.cwsworkshop.org/pdfs/CARA/Overview/2_Preaching.pdf

Paul, thanks for the note: I have been voting Republican and admire many things about the party, but I am disappointed with them on illegal immigration and the enormous spending spree that continues unabated.

It burned me up to hear the Mike Findley (sp?) show yesterday. He was talking about the hundreds of millions that Homeland Security Dept. forked out to towns. Mike talked about how a small town in TN used the money to buy a John Deere Gator to use in the town parks or something like that. What the hell does a Gator have to do with homeland security?? His list went on & on, it burned me up, especially as I have to fork over $7K in taxes by Friday.

What's the website for the party?

Eric,

You are partially correct that prayer is not currently forbidden in schools. But, the Supreme Court has, indeed, imposed strict limitations on what was once traditional in schools. According to the U.S. Department of Education:

"Students may pray when not engaged in school activities or instruction, subject to the same rules designed to prevent material disruption of the educational program that are applied to other privately initiated expressive activities. Among other things, students may read their Bibles or other scriptures, say grace before meals, and pray or study religious materials with fellow students during recess, the lunch hour, or other noninstructional time to the same extent that they may engage in nonreligious activities. While school authorities may impose rules of order and pedagogical restrictions on student activities, they may not discriminate against student prayer or religious speech in applying such rules and restrictions."

"The Supreme Court's decisions over the past forty years set forth principles that distinguish impermissible governmental religious speech from the constitutionally protected private religious speech of students. For example, teachers and other public school officials may not lead their classes in prayer, devotional readings from the Bible, or other religious activities. Nor may school officials attempt to persuade or compel students to participate in prayer or other religious activities. Such conduct is "attributable to the State" and thus violates the Establishment Clause.

So, the effect is that there are severely restricted times and places that a child may have prayer in schools. And, this is not the way that it has always been, as you have suggested in your post. Prayer in public school hasn't been the same since the Supreme Court case of Murray v. Curlett, for better or worse, depending upon your views.

And, Cheryl is right, the Supreme Court invoked restrictions on prayer in school by citing the Establishment Clause, which is the famous "seperation of church and state" argument used by secularists.

TYPICAL BLACKSBORO...OOPS, GREENSBORO. MY WIFE SPENDS MORE TIME APPEASING MILITANT BLACK PARENTS THAN SHE DOES TEACHING. THE FIRST GENERATION OF CRACK BABIES IS REACHING MIDDLE SCHOOL AGE AND IT SHOWS.

I don't respond to these LTE a lot of times, just because people on here seem to know one another and it's their little message board. But someone's got to point out that Husband of a Teacher is a racist and really needs to get some help.

Cheryl Smith,

You are right on lady. Please be seated and read today's paper . Our Reichsmarschall Grier wants one half MILLION more for Crossroads Ministries.
The taxpayers, parents and children are being forced across that line between freedom and slavery to the overpaid, tyranical educational bureaucrats. They don't care and the elected school board members aren't much better.

First off, I thank Mrs. Smith for sending in the letter to the editor about Crossroads Ministries.

I had read about this organization's workshops for teachers in the Rhinoceros Times; someone from the News & Record will have to remind me if it printed a similar article.

Mrs. Smith used a letter from eight University of Alabama professors as the source for some of the sentiments held by and presented by Crossroads Ministries.

Those sentiments, as presented, prove to me something that I have known for quite some time: that whites do not have an absolute monopoly on ignorance concerning issues of race.

I have long been a supporter of diversity training. I have followed the news far too long and had my own personal experiences that let me know in my heart that we could all benefit from diversity training.

As a teacher, I know that I am in a profession in which I have the potential to teach children from countless cultural backgrounds, and that for me to do the best job possible, I need to have knowledge of cultures other than my own.

The problem with too many programs that try to make people more aware of diversity and multiculturalism is that they are at best hokey (light, silly, almost childish) and at worst confrontational (blame-filled, centered on the past, divisive, back-lash inspiring).

The other side of the problem is that the people who need help the most--(and believe me, these people in need of help include members of every single cultural group you could possibly name)--are the type of people who will (at best) not gain anything from such programs and who will (at worse) actually develop worse attitudes than they already owned. And this is probably true, regardless of the actual quality of the program.

On the flip side, people who arguably need little if any help are the ones who would volunteer to participate in such programs anyway. Their knowledge and understanding may increase, but the overall problem probably won't be helped that much because these individuals were not part of the problem to begin with.

I don't know exactly how the workshops for Guilford County Schools employees have gone. I've read about Crossroads Ministries and its published ideas and what critics from elsewhere have had to say, but I do not recall much, if any, direct information about how the local workships have gone.

At my school, I cannot imagine teachers quietly enduring the kind of messages that Mrs. Smith listed in her letter to the editor.

I know of at least one African-American teacher at my school who I think I am safe to assume would be the strongest voice against those "sentiments" associated with Crossroads Ministries.

And I know plenty of white teachers at my school who would be upset to hear such messages thrown at them. Having witnessed these teachers in action, I cannot imagine all of them simply listening without voicing their own powerful responses. (And one of the beautiful things about my school's principal is that he allows teachers to speak their minds without having to fear him holding petty grudges. Some teachers with whom I work have strongly expressed opinions different from my principal, but I have never known him to hold a grudge or seek to punish those teachers. He lives up to the spirit of one of America's greatest ideals, freedom of speech.)

If Crossroads Ministries is delivering the messages Mrs. Smith listed, I think Dr. Grier and/or members of the Guilford County Schools school board have an obligation to explain why they have selected this particular program and how they think the messages being delivered will benefit teachers and more importantly students in Guilford County. (Non-white teachers who support the "sentiments" attributed to Crossroad Ministries arguably have the potential to be as bad for their white students as any racist white teachers are for their non-white students.)

If Crossroads Ministries holds these beliefs but tones them down for Guilford County Schools employees, the question needs to be raised about their closet beliefs. Supporting Crossroads Ministries might be compared to belonging to a country club that does not tolerate members belonging to certain groups.

I fully support Guilford County Schools providing training that has the potential to increase teachers' awareness of issues they need to know and to contribute to us becoming better, more effective teachers for ALL of our students.

I have serious reservations about Crossroads Ministries being a program that will in any way benefit our school system's teachers and students.

I hope that Dr. Grier and our school board will carefully consider continuing to use Crossroads Ministries. Staying with this program may not be in the best interests of anyone.

If the decision is ultimately made to continue using this program, I think it would be a great sign of respect for Dr. Grier and/or any school board member to explain this decision so that our system's employees and community members might gain an understanding of the overall rationale.

Finally, I arrive at the real reason I chose to post these comments. While this issue concerned me, I did not have definite intentions of expressing myself on this issue.

While I am not a fan of Crossroads Ministries, I understand how and why otherwise intelligent people could choose to support such thinking. America is an amazing country, and I am proud to be among its citizens. But America has an ugly history that is not as far in our past as some people would blindly choose to believe. And while it cannot be denied how far we have come as a country, neither can it be denied that we have a long way to go.

Some white people would have us believe that everything would be fine if organizations like Crossroads Ministries or people like Skip Alston did not exist. While neither Crossroads Ministries nor Skip Alston is good for race relations in America, they are not the reason racism still exists. They do not help conditions, but without them, believe me, white racists would still exist.

Scott McNeill posted this comment above: "Husband of a Teacher is a racist and really needs to get some help."

I could not say it any better than Mr. McNeill.

I will say that any white person who has a problem with Crossroads Ministries and not Husband of a Teacher is as much a part of the problem as Crossroads Ministries could ever hope to be.

But I guarantee you that there are whites out there offended by Crossroads Ministries who do not have one ounce of concern for the ugly comments Husband of a Teacher proudly posted.

And ironically, if there is any justification for the sentiments associated with Crossroads Ministries, Husband of a Teacher is the poster child for such justification.

I've even considered that Husband of a Teacher could be the husband of someone I teach with. I hope that is not the case, but it is not an impossibility.

If Husband of a Teacher's wife shares his sentiments, she represents the kind of teacher who clearly justifies a need for diversity training in our school system.

Unfortunately, as I indicated, I don't think Crossroads Ministries is going to contribute positively to a different mindset by people who already think like Husband of a Teacher.

I hope Guilford County Schools can find the kind of program that might actually have the potential to affect employees who need help the most in a positive way.

If the wife of Husband of a Teacher is dead-set on holding onto the kind of sentiments her husband expressed, I hope she quits and finds a job in which she will not have to worry about having a negative impact on children.

Because with the kind of views that would allow you for any reason, under any circumstances to express, "TYPICAL BLACKSBORO...OOPS, GREENSBORO. MY WIFE SPENDS MORE TIME APPEASING MILITANT BLACK PARENTS THAN SHE DOES TEACHING. THE FIRST GENERATION OF CRACK BABIES IS REACHING MIDDLE SCHOOL AGE AND IT SHOWS," it might be next to impossible for you not to have a positive impact on black students.

Our world would be infinitely better off if people did not think like the people associated with Crossroads Ministries and Husband of a Teacher.

Both examples exemplify the need for diversity training.

Hey Seymour, its all about how you represent, I dont care what race you belong to, and HUSBAND OF A TEACHER has a very vaild point.
I dont understand how kids cant say God in school, but our tax money goes to these "DEVILS" who preach racism. That guy Grier needs his some serious psychotherapy.

My third-to-the-last paragraph in the post I made about two above this one should have read:

"Because with the kind of views that would allow you for any reason, under any circumstances to express, "TYPICAL BLACKSBORO...OOPS, GREENSBORO. MY WIFE SPENDS MORE TIME APPEASING MILITANT BLACK PARENTS THAN SHE DOES TEACHING. THE FIRST GENERATION OF CRACK BABIES IS REACHING MIDDLE SCHOOL AGE AND IT SHOWS," it might be next to impossible for you to have a positive impact on black students."

Dan,

The Libertarian Party of NC's site is:

http://www.lpnc.org

and the national site is:

www.lp.org

I'm glad to hear you're interested!

I apologize if this is a duplicate post - don't think first one took.

Melanie, thank you for providing that link on the Barndt guy. Interesting paper - isn't it.

To me the key word I picked up was "preach". This does not sound like separation of church and state.

As a substitute teacher, I have seen kids who refrain from saying the pledge either because it is against their religion or they are not a U.S. citizen. We respect that.

I don't see how it can be "mandatory" that teachers attend a preaching workshop. To me, this is not right.

What I also find disturbing about Crossroads Ministry, according to the Rhino, the past forums where supposed to be open to the public. Yet they would not let the newspaper reporters in.

What are they trying to hide from the public? Also I don't see how we would know if they are "toning down" their approach or not. When you look up the links on the internet, there is some very disturbing stuff out there.

Seymore,

Teachers endure a lot - believe me. I hear them talking a lot at the lunch tables.

They either adjust and endure many things - not just attending a seminar or lose their jobs or get transferred. Also sometimes it would not be considered "politically correct" to say what they might feel.

What I think this kind of training does is not help those who really are racists. They are not going to change. For others who are not, they don't like being called one.

For husband of a teacher.

"He who talks without thinking dies without getting sick"

Barbara Ann,

You are absolutely right that teachers endure a lot.

I know from first-hand experience as a ninth-year teacher and through countless conversations I have had with fellow teachers.

Those who have never taught or spent significant time in a school as a substitute or volunteer have no earthly idea what teachers put up with on an almost daily basis.

I agree completely about many teachers not feeling comfortable expressing their opinions and ideas because they fear repercussions.

As I mentioned earlier, I am fortunate to be at a school where my principal is not afraid to allow teachers to express their opinions, even when those opinions go against my principal's own views and ideas.

In the eight years that my principal has served our school, some teachers have expressed themselves in less than tactful ways, yet I have never known a teacher to be fired or suffer long-term consequences for expressing themselves.

It would not surprise me if some other schools do not have such an environment. All schools (and all workplaces) should.

Part of me even sympathizes with the teacher whose husband posted a comment as "Husband of a Teacher."

But when he wrote, "TYPICAL BLACKSBORO...OOPS, GREENSBORO," he crossed an ugly, despicable line.

He may have simply been trying to be cute, but it was an ugly, racist thing for him to post.

By posting it so openly, he deserves any criticism that comes his way, including mine.

If he recognizes how ugly that comment was, he is free to apologize for it--I don't expect him to identify himself by name.

There are black individuals who deserve strong criticism, but his comment was a slur against every black citizen of Guilford County, not a criticism of a specific person, policy, or program.

I actually laughed at his "militant black parents" comment because blacks parents are only a small percentage of the parents who want to force educators to grant special privileges for their own children.

(The total number of parents of all races who might qualify for the "militant" label is a very small percentage of the overall parent population, in my experience.)

Finally, the "crack babies" comment has multiple racial overtones. Why not refer to "cocaine babies"? (And right away, the opening "Blacksboro" comment connects with everything he says after that any way.)

Again, my experience has been that black students do not come close to having a monopoly on types of behaviors one might want to assume exist as a result of a parents' drug abuse.

Drug abuse among parents may influence how some children turn out, but there are other factors out there as well, and I promise you that race is not the determining factor, which is what that person's post suggested.

I will end with this point: some blacks have pointed out in the past that when they were called ugly names by whites, it made them want to behave in ways that would earn the ugly names. (If you call me an ugly name, I might as well act ugly.)

When you call white people racist without provocation, it may make some white people want act racist in an effort to earn the title they've been given anyway. (If you're going to call me racist regardless, I might as well act racist.)

But being called an ugly name or being called racist, by any moral or religious standard that matters, does not give someone the right to respond with viciousness and ugliness.

If your religion or your moral values don't give you the personal strength to resist the temptation to respond in an ugly fashion, then maybe you need to seek a different religion or moral code that might actually give you that strength.

Crack cocaine affects a fetus in ways much more detrimental and debilitating than powder cocaine.
Crack cocaine use is more prevalent in young blacks than powder cocaine use in young whites.
More blacks use crack than whites.
Ergo, more black crack babies.
Ugly, but there it is.

Seymour,

Regarding teachers being afraid to speak out. I know this is true. Teachers at one elementary school were told if the put the infamous yellow magnet on their car, their would be serious consequences. To me it is freedom of speech. My husband bought one; I bought a "Buy more teachers, not buses".

When I worked the Career Fair as a volunteer last year at SWH, several teachers said how they hated the HP "Choice" plan but could not speak up or they would be transferred to an undesirable location. They feared for their jobs.

It WAS a very ugly comment to say "Blacksboro", etc.

We can't put all black people in a category and make assumptions. By the same token, white people do not like assumptions made about them by some so called self proclaimed "minister". To me when I hear the word "minister", I think of a person carrying God's message of love. This is not a message of love but a message to divide and separate and stir up bad feelings. Some people keep their power this way by constantly "stirring the pot" - otherwise, people might actually find they really do have so much in common and like each other.

Having subbed in the schools for 5 years I have seen rotten behavior in white kids and in black kids. No matter what the color - black, white, purple, teaching right from wrong begins at home. Also you see children who are just starved for ANY attention and it breakS your heart. It takes so little to make them happy, it is often pathetic, and give you are rewarded with a hug. I could tell you from one day in a class which kids are having their needs whether physical (food, clothing, school supplies) or emotional met at home.

The sad thing is that as kids get older and hormones set in, the problems multiply. Classroom sizes are large and it is hard for any teacher to just have one disruptive kid and teach, let alone several. I am not talking any race issue here; I am saying that if children do not want to be in class to learn and are disruptive, there needs to be alternative schools.

Another subject for another day.

For more information on Crossroads Ministry and its directors one can check out the following:

Crossroads: Newsletter of the Crossroads Ministry

The Network for Inclusive Vision at www.inclusive.org

www.crossroadsministry.org

Allow me to say this again, incase it wasnt HEARD the first time. I think this sums it all up:
"The whole thing is absurd. If white people had such a meeting, it would be called the KKK. To force white teachers to attend such a meeting is beyond my realm, and my realm goes pretty damn far out there.
In my opinion, those who scream RACISM are the very ones who are RACIST. You cant have your cake and eat it too, black people. Sorry."
FURTHERMORE, I would be the "jesus" if I were a teacher forced to attend such garbage. FIRE me damn you, I'll own your ASSets later.

WELL, I GUESS I THREW GASOLINE ON A SMOLDERING FIRE. GOOD.
AM I A RACIST? NO. ASK MY BLACK FRIENDS OF WHICH I HAVE MANY. AM I A REALIST? YES. ASK ANYONE I KNOW OR ASK THE VAST AND SILENT MAJORITY IN GREENSBORO.
AS A RETIRED JOURNALIST I HAVE BEEN ALL OVER THIS SICK AND TWISTED LITTLE WORLD AND I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT THE INTERNATIONAL BLACK COMMUNITY SITS IN AWE AT THE MYRIAD OF WAYS THAT AMERICAN BLACKS HAVE FOUND TO MAKE FOOLS OF THEMSELVES.

Couple of other sites which surfaced through some searches on the name of the "Rev"

www.alabamascholars.org/page53.html

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/662076/posts This has a copy of the article from the AP the rest is pretty much a board on the topic. The article was interesting.

Mr. P,

"There is nothing natural or inborn about racism."

Actually there's nothing more natural in this world. It's not always a racial prejudice but the tendency to think your group is better than some other group is part of our human makeup. Whether that group is black, white American, French, Baptist, Muslim, Democrat or Republican we all self identify with certain groups and think the better of ourselves for it.

I think well of our society for hosting events such as the ones spoken of by the original letter because they are part of an effort to break down the barriers that separate us. It's a pity that they are a total waste of money and do more to exacerbate (sp) the problem than to solve it.

My apologies Marshall. I did not make myself clear.(It is taught and evidently the "Rev." received an extra heavy dose somewhere in his life time.) Guess this can be misunderstood.

When speaking of natural and inborn I was refering to the fact that it is not a natural and inborn thing, ie we are not born with any preconceived ideas, they are learned, taught by those closest to us during our formative years and then honed or changed by others as we mature or grow older.

I forget sometimes to keep things simple. I even confuse myself sometimes when I go back and read what I have written.

I am white and I have been through a similar training as Crossraods and I think it is good and important. i am glad that my tax dolalrs go to this type of important hting. We white folks tend to see the world through white glasses. We need to hear from Black folks and other people of color.

Being racist hurts us. it perverts us dehumanizes us. Like "husband of a teacher" he clearly hates himself more than even he hates Black folks. We all need to take an honest look at racism and what it was done to all of us.

I doubt a single post above is from a person of color. I wonder why it is that so many white folks seem to disagree with the statements while many people of color do not? Could it be because the experiences of racism that Black folks have had their whole lives have lead them to different conclusions about how things work?

I recommend anyone who truly cares about race to go through the training. I have barely ever spoken to anyone of any race who came out of a training feeling like it was a waste of time. Most people are really moved and touched and learn a lot.

Hope you all find ways to becoem happier helathier people. Its hard going through life feeling so defensive, scared, afraid of being challenged, afraid of new ideas.

I am white and I have been through a similar training as Crossraods and I think it is good and important. I am glad that my tax dolalrs go to this type of important thing. We white folks tend to see the world through white glasses. We need to hear from Black folks and other people of color.

Being racist hurts us. It perverts us and dehumanizes us. Like "husband of a teacher": he clearly hates himself more than even he hates Black folks. We all need to take an honest look at racism and what it was done to all of us.

I doubt a single post above is from a person of color. I wonder why it is that so many white folks seem to disagree with the statements put out by Crossroads while many people of color do not? Could it be because the experiences of racism that Black folks have had their whole lives have lead them to different conclusions about how things work?

I recommend anyone who truly cares about racism to go through the training. I have barely ever spoken to anyone of any race who came out of a training feeling like it was a waste of time. Most people are really moved and touched and learn a lot.

Hope you all find ways to becoem happier healthier people. Its hard going through life feeling so defensive, scared, afraid of being challenged, afraid of new ideas.

I wonder why it is that so many white folks seem to disagree with the statements put out by Crossroads while many people of color do not?

Maybe because it's not the "black folks" who are being told that, like alcoholics, they are racists whether they realize it or not.

Crossroads is just another race-baiting org. out to make a dollar on white liberal guilt, a la Jesse Jackson/Al Sharpton.

I think that Crossroads is just a Pretend-to-be-Christian Wahhabi Muslim organization. Reverand spelled; "imam". More ways to undermine America...