Yes, we should see past color, but the present is colored by our past. The main thing to remember is that this country is one stolen by racist rebels which led to the types of prejudices our majoir institutions are based on e.g. government, education, and economy. The second is to remember that when ownerships and credits over these and other things such as music and other creations were written, they were recorded to exclude non-whites. As Cornell West argues in Race Matters, "[C]ulture is as much a structure as the economy or politics." Two good examples: 1. In 1858, the US Attorney General ruled that Ò...since the slave was not considered a United States citizen, he could neither make a contract with the government nor assign his invention to his master." 2. Ask yourself why Elvis is king of rock 'n'roll, Clapton is the guitar god, Sinatra is the voice, Astaire is the greatest dancer, and Babe Ruth is the best hitter (historically)? A clue: They are the best WHITE heroes. What's legitimate to the institution of America is relative to who is acceptable, as in the case of Elvis and Jackson.