Tim Wise: To understand white denial about American history, consider two photos.

[sheilahi]

56. my shame

As a teenager growing up in Amarillo Texas and working at a movie theatre, I will never forget the day I went to work and saw a line of black people waiting to get inside to watch a movie. It was obvious that it was a big deal for them since everyone had taken the time to dress up in their very nicest clothes and holding their money so we'd know they could afford to see a movie. Know what we did? We kept the doors locked and hid inside. The kids outside waited and waited and waited in their pretty clothes in that scorching Texas heat while knowing that "us white folks" in the air conditioned theatre were feeling superior to them simply because of the color of their skin. I remember feeling sick to my stomach about treating other human beings like this. That was the day I knew I had to leave the south.........and i did. I also know that I owe each and everyone of these people an apology.