One year ago this month we were discussing the killing of Trayvon Martin. This year the headlines have been dominated by the shooting of Michael Brown and the protests in Ferguson, Missouri. When you consider the extra judicial killings of hundreds of other young people of color, it seems like we are looping again and again. A recent poll conducted by the Pew Research Center showed that blacks are about twice as likely to say that the shooting of Michael Brown “raises important issues about race that need to be discussed.”

Why does this gulf in attitude continue to persist? Is it growing or shrinking? What are the factors that contribute to such different perceptions of reality? What are some steps to help us get in the same page?

This month we will explore this persistence and look for strategies to change the cultural chasms coming from 400 years of history.