One tool of racism is to teach us to be scared of young men of color, especially black young men. It's hard for me to admit this, but I know that it's been true for me. I became aware of this indoctrination after watching the Michael Moore movie Roger and Me.  That film shows how the media perpetuates the myth that black men are a danger to society rather than the opposite, which is that our society is actually very harmful to young black, and brown, men.

I then understood that I had been taught that certain neighborhoods were dangerous for me, when in reality I can walk in just about any neighborhood without harm ever coming to me. Yet I was taught to live in fear of crossing boundaries.

After that realization, I decided to work on loving people of all genotypes. I'm aware it’s a kind of a strange aspiration, but for whatever reason it became mine. It helps that I live in a multiracial community--and that my kids attended multiracial schools. Adoring kids is easy for me. And once they've grown up my love for them doesn't go away.

This week I'm visiting New York City, an amazing cross-section of humanity, which has given me a chance to see how I've done on my goal. I'm proud to say I've succeeded. Most of the human faces I pass by remind me of someone I know. In each stranger's face I see someone I feel warmly towards, which makes them less of a stranger in my heart.  And that makes the world feel like a safer place. I'm no longer living in fear of a lie. Instead I'm living a life of appreciation--for all of the (not so) strangers around me.