The Exhibit Opens Today

Our inability to recognize the extent to which racism exists is truly amazing.
--Colum McCann, Let the Great World Spin

Rochester Public Library and Mayo Clinic have partnered to bring the national touring exhibit “RACE: Are We So Different?” to Rochester, MN. The exhibit is now on display from May 17 - Sept 4, 2010 on the second floor of the library.

As the final part of my volunteer training for the exhibit I got to see it yesterday.

It is magnificent, thorough, excellent, and a must see. It covers the science that has shown that "race" is not genetic and that we are one species- the human race. It gives a devastating history of race as a historical development in the United States. It brings us to the contemporary questions, answers and concerns that we face today.

Rochester is the smallest community that has hosted the exhibit since it began at the Science Museum of Minnesota in 2007. From here it will go to Boston and then the Smithsonian. It is also the first time it will be a free exhibit. We are fortunate. If you are near Rochester between now and Labor Day, think about seeing it.

This has been the top issue on my personal social radar for 50 years. It is, I feel, an underlying issue that will continue to undermine who we are as a nation until we can truly come to grips with it. Yes, I know we have come a long way in the past 50 years. But we have a long way still to go.

Therefore I will be blogging from time to time over the summer about the issues the exhibit raises from my perspective. Here are some links that you might find helpful:

Local Rochester, MN, Information
Rochester, MN, Community Events

RACE- Are We So Different?

Science Museum of Minnesota RACE website

Race: The Power of an Illusion

Race: The Power of an Illusion transcripts