For the men and women of Reverend Wright's generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. At times, that anger is exploited by politicians, to gin up votes along racial lines, or to make up for a politician's own failings.

Not simply the Old, or the Black spoke that way. It was my Mexican friends making fun of African Americans either when they surrounded by other Mexicans or in mixed company of Mexicans and Whites. It was my African-American friends by themselves or surrounded by other non-whites talking about Whites.

I was in the room when...

That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.

I said words that were arrogant, ignorant and stupid. I have a right to my anger, no one can take that away from me. But what is anger without cause or reason? Nothing but hate.

And how come I came to be the in the room? It was not a door that I merely opened to discover what lay within. It was more like a light switch, that once turned on can not be turned off again. In the glaring light of that single bulb of truth I saw what lay in plain sight.

That takes some courage, not a lot, but some and Obama has it. He spoke the truth. Many have heard, the question is, will the listen? Some clearly have not, focusing on the phrase "typical white woman". But in my experience, its not just the "typical white" its the typical human being. We are flawed, we are imperfect, but do we have the courage to face our imperfections and move on? That is the challenge before us.