We are all, as Sean Gonsalves wrote, morally exhausted from dealing with and talking about race. But, to borrow from an old spiritual, we have little choice but to “run on, see what the end will be,” because the exhausting race is the only way forward. It’s the door through which we must pass into a shared future. And, from all we’ve heard lately, the way is still steep, and the race is still long. Sometimes we’re tempted to stop and declare it finished, even won. But we know better.
In the past few weeks, we’ve heard from voices as politically diverse as Jermiah Wright, Barack Obama, and Condoleeza Rice. They represent different points on the political spectrum, but there’s a surprising degree of harmony in their remarks on subject Americans are still comfortable dealing with; one that reaches back to the beginning of our shared history. That harmony suggests the presence of something else: truth.
