Many years ago, in conversation over dinner with a man I had just started dating, we got on to the topic of Thomas Jefferson. Turns out we were both reading Jefferson biographies. It didn't take long to reach a point in the conversation where it was clear our racial backgrounds were leading us to a fork in the road of sorts – we certainly held  different views on Jefferson. Ultimately, our discussion took a turn that made me decide this would be our last date.

When talking about race -- or specifically about racism -- it's difficult to bridge the gap in understanding that exists between whites and blacks. It's not impossible but all too often our vastly different perspectives lead us to draw conclusions that are hard to reconcile and even harder to dismantle.