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You might think that a man who wrote a book that explores how America’s lost touch with racial equality even after Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream would have quite the diversely rich upbringing, well think again. Tanner Colby–the author of “Some Of My Friends Are Black” believes that inequality still reigns and in his controversial book he tells us why. Colby says that he is living proof that America is still racially segregated because he’s admitted that he actually has no black friends.

Colby told the Huffington Post, “I didn’t actually know any black people. I mean, I’ve met them, have been acquainted with a few in passing, here and there. I know of black people, you could say. But none of my friends were black. I’d never had a black teacher, college professor or workplace mentor. I’d never even been inside a black person’s house.”

Through his research, Colby learned that a lot of his friends had the same experience and that Eureka moment led him to write this book.

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In “Some Of My Friends Are Black,” Colby argues that America has troubling race issues. I have just started this book, but the racial issues we face in this country are outlined through an analysis the historical segregated south, the racial divide in the corporate world and a pastor’s 40 year plight to build an integrated church–among other analyses.

Amazon.com reviews state that Colby has written this tale “with a reporter’s nose and a stylist’s flair” and Colby “uncovers the deep emotional fault lines set trembling by race and takes an unflinching look at an America still struggling to reach the mountaintop.”

We certainly are still within a great racial divide in America and being that equality is a thread that is supposed to bind all the diversity of our country together, segregation should only be mentioned in the past tense. Like Colby, I live in New York City–a cultural mecca, and I’m constantly in awe of the way neighborhoods are divided. There’s Korea Town, China Town, Little Africa, Little Italy and even within boroughs, there are known neighborhoods for particular ethnic groups.

When I first read the title of Colby’s book and realized that he’d never had black people in his life, I was ready to judge him. But I’ve been professionally trained to be objective, so rushing to judgment isn’t fair. I took a look at my own life and realized that I live a predominantly black life.

Most, not all of my friends are black. When you really think about it, the racial divide truly begins in one’s self. I spend a good 95% of my life interacting with black people. I’ve realized that I am like Colby and in taking a look into my own life, I know that I could use more diversity. So I challenge you to do the same. Take a look into your own life and evaluate who you spend your time around. If there is no diversity, then “Some Of My Best Friends Are Black” may need to find its way on to your must-read list.

Will we ever reach a point where all men are created equal?

Let’s discuss this live!

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