There's an original and interesting collection of quotes in this personal essay by Dan Gediman. A white man, he's very forthcoming about his experiences with racism, without being sentimental.

An article on race from the people that had to hear and fight for the right to just ride in a bus to staying in a hotel. My father was in the Army all his life, and as such, I was an Army brat. Never in all our travels did we confront racism on any level. The Army preached that all people were one, and the one next to you could be the one who saves your life. In 1972, at 18, I too went into the Army. Again race was not a problem. After traveling around the country for a few years, I moved to N.C. Only then did I see racism at it's core. People of both races not only didn't hang together, they despised each other. On one side of town was the black section, usually in run down houses and inferior schools. In the other part of ... More »

This I Believe has been consistently one of the best things on NPR in recent years. This particular entry, by the executive producer of the series, sums up nicely what makes it so important.