The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice and Oppression

In the public school system that I grew up in I learned about the civil rights movement through history classes.  I remember thinking I am glad there are no longer people that think that way.  When I was in high school I had a friend that was African American that was sneaking around dating his girlfriend that was Caucasian and Asian.  The girl's mother would not allow her daughter to date him because of the color of his skin.   This girl felt torn between abiding by her mother (becuase that is what you are suppose to do) but on the same hand knew her mother was wrong for not getting to know this guy and not just judging him by the color of his skin.  They eventually broke up becuase the guy no longer wanted to be the reason the relationship between mother and daughter was strained.  For me as an outsider being friends with both of them it effected me.  I did not realize that people still had hatered for people because of the color of their skin.  I have many feelings about this - at first I was mad, angry, embarassed and even sad.  The mother needs to start looking at what is on the inside and not what is on the outside.  Why do we still live in a world where people are judged by the color of their skin?  At times I wish that eveyone was blind and we would never have to know what people looked like and we could only judge them based on the words they spoke and what is truly inside of a person.