I had no idea that black people were brutally assaulted for just sitting on the wrong bench or that the police were part of the problem at that time. The new appreciation for the factual understanding of what the American civil rights era was about scared me in some ways because it reminded me that human beings have a certain natural capacity for illogical group loyalties and prejudices. It is something that I also recognize in my country of origin and also between different Asian races of people as well. The course also changed my view of the way that white and black Americans may view one another. Even in today's era of civil rights, racial equality, and appreciation for cultural diversity, there must be some resentment remaining in many black Americans, especially those who remember life in the U.S. before the 1960s.

2.

To be perfectly honest, I think society still has a long way to go before it can really become completely free of racism and other forms of intolerance. Even today, I believe that the way cultural sensitivity is promoted is somewhat ineffective. That is because people are only taught to respect one another's differences; they are not taught that their differences really do not matter. In my opinion, once you allow people to think that it is appropriate to have any sort of "pride"...

I think it is a contradiction to teach that superficial differences between people do not matter while at the same time encouraging people to take "pride" in their race or even in their nationality. In my opinion, the current approach of teaching that one's heritage is a legitimate source of personal identity and pride and also that everybody should respect one another equally is contradictory. Either race and ethnicity (etc.) are legitimate reasons to feel proud or they are not (in my view, they are not).
I believe that the only truly effective way of eliminating racism and prejudice from racist tendencies and impulses from human societies is to challenge the assumption that race and ethnicity are a legitimate source of positive feelings or personal identity. In the meantime, encouraging "positive" expressions of racial or ethnic pride only reinforces the fundamental differences that people often feel for one another based on their backgrounds. It is my belief since studying the ways that racism and prejudice happen in society that the only way to truly achieve the goal of a society without any form of prejudice is to stop encouraging even positive types of racial and cultural identification. People should look at skin color and ethnic origin the exact same way they look at hair and eye color. The idea of being proud of one's race should become as silly as being proud of one's hair color.