What if you were black?

Speaking of debut extraordinaires, let's look at a few.

Sue Monk Kidd's THE MERMAID CHAIR
Jennifer Weiner's GOOD IN BED
Nicholas Sparks' THE NOTEBOOK
Elizabeth Kostova's THE HISTORIAN

Etc., etc.

Notice anything? Well, hmm, let's see......They're all WHITE. Even if there are black characters in their stories, did their publishers slap ethnic covers on their books and say, "We don't want to miss out on the African American market"? What are the odds these wonderful authors would have been debut bestsellers if they were black? Let's face it. They wouldn't have been.

Do you think any of these authors---or others like them---have ever so much as given that fact a first thought? Probably not. They're too busy enjoying the benefits of being born on the "right" side of the alligator.

Why should they care, you ask? Well, let's just put it this way. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Wake up people. It could just as easily have been you.