I’ll let the writers speak for themselves.  This is just a small sampling:

Branden:

I don’t think of myself as racist or bias, but when I think if I am one of the 80 percent who don’t realize it, I began to wonder.  Has America come to a point where such cruel ideals have become beliefs so natural to human beings that we don’t even realize it?  It really scares me. 

Anna:

I think it’s very interesting that today, even though we don’t believe that racism exists much anymore, a lot of us probably think of African Americans and other races differently without even realizing it.  The reason given by the author is a veyr possible one, that black people are generally found more often in poorer communities, and so we think of them as more of a threat than others.  Clearly, there are a lot of possible reasons that we and the police officers might possibly have been racist.

Cindy:

Another example that really bothers me but, I can not do much about is the segregation in the Student Center! This segregation is not written to exist but, it exists mentally. What I mean by this is that people sit with people who they feel comfortable with, relate to, and do not feel opressed by. The insecuirty between diverse people is the streotypes and the feeling of not wanting to deal with them. I do not blame people for sitting with people who they are most comfotable with because, it’s their free choice. However, I find it extrodinary how it always comes down to most people sitting with other people of their race.

Anna (not the same one):

It’s interesting to me that the students are more aware of racism, than the teachers who had taught them how horrible it was. This raises interesting questions in my mind. Are our teachers only teaching us that racism is wrong because they have to? Or do they truly think racism is wrong? And are some of them even racist themselves?

Eliza:

I feel that American’s feel very ‘nervous’ about race. It is something that is talked about or touched upon breifly, but never really expanded on.

Jon:

However, having said all of this, there is a very good chance that Barack Obama will be our next president.  Unfortunately, part of his campaign will have to be making himself appealing to the white population.

Lucy:

 Maybe if more people in upper class, privleged societies saw the terrible tolls that prejudice can take on a racist society, there would be more initiative to stop it altogether.

Mason:

If being positive can also be considered racist, then what direction do we have to go in order stop being racist?

Rachelle:

When you read this book, you can not believe that this is the same United States that we live in today.  The language that is in this book is very disturbing and really gives the reader a lasting impression on just how hard the south was on African Americans during this time.