Racism....One of the most powerful words in our language and unfortunately, one that is not used disparagingly. What is even worse is our ability to deny its' existence. We claim that "that" is not what is happening here and that we play the "race" card. How ridiculous? Therefore, it is a challenge because we can't fix what we can't "see."

I'd like to think that we are making progress; however, the process is very frustrating. I remember Hurricane Katrina and the media news report (s) of the "refugees" and I would rush to the TV because I had never seen an "American Refugee" and wanted to know what one looks like. To my surprise they were photographing/video-graphing Louisiana's black citizens, who had not been able to leave the city before the storm. So, I thought to myself, they must have the wrong tape feed for this story, so I would wait for them to announce they were having technical difficulty and would get the correct video feed viewing shortly. Didn't happen. I am still waiting for that correction.

I was absolutely embarrassed that in 2005, this hurricane (Katrina), touted as the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States (Wikipedia, 2007 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Hurricane_Katrina), displaced so many Americans-hundreds of them are still homeless two years later. In America? Why?

In West Virginia, September 2007, here's what was reported by ABC NEWS: Details Emerge in W. Va. Torture Case -Woman's Ordeal in W. Va. Shed, Described As Week of Torture, Leads to Hate Crime Investigation

Pictured on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2007, is the mobile home, left, and tool shed at Big Creek, W.Va., where authorities say 20-year-old Charleston, W.Va., resident Megan Williams, a black woman, was allegedly abducted, held captive for at least a week and tortured by six white individuals from Logan County, W.Va. Authorities said Tuesday they are considering hate crime charges in the woman's case. They are investigating the possibility that she was lured by a man she met on the Internet. (AP Photo/Michael Browning)

At one point, an assailant cut the woman's ankle with a knife and used the N-word in telling her she was victimized because she is black, authorities said. They said the young was also forced to eat dog feces.

Investigators are still trying to determine how the woman ended up at the property and whether she knew any of the six people arrested or two others, suspected of driving her to the home, who

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