Recently I visited the recently-opened Museum of African American History and Culture. The experience was at once inspiring and troubling.  Inspiring because so much of the distinctive texture of American life can be traced directly to its rich African American contributions.  Troubling because our nation’s shameful embrace of racism is not just a stain on our nation’s past, but a plague that threatens us still.

For the first time I was in our nation’s capital on the Fourth of July, where the choir directed by my wife Dhilanthi performed at the John F. Kennedy Center.

Later we visited the recently-opened Museum of African American History and Culture. The experience was at once inspiring and troubling.  Inspiring because so much of the distinctive texture of American life can be traced directly to its rich African American contributions.  Troubling because our nation’s shameful embrace of racism is not just a stain on our nation’s past, but a plague that threatens us still.