Fascinating historical note—and proof that I didn’t know as much as I thought I did. During the 2008 presidential race, I worked at a social service agency in Seattle. Our custodian was an immigrant from Cote d’Ivoire in West Africa named Emmauel. He followed the campaign with great interest and expressed disbelief that the United States would ever elevate a black man to its highest office. I, on the other hand, assured him that America was changing and that Obama would, indeed, win—especially after the economic meltdown in September.

The day after the election, Emmanuel approached me with a question. He was thrilled that Obama had prevailed—but wanted to know what the White House would now be called. I was stunned by the question, having never once associated the name of the building with the color of its occupants. I assured Emmanuel that the name had nothing to do with race, and that the building was probably painted white to give it the appearance of marble.

It would seem that I was wrong and Emmanuel—not educated in American public schools and properly indoctrinated in our nation’s superiority in all things—could see more clearly than I was then able to do.

If perchance you read this, Emmanuel, please accept my apologies. I, as an individual—and we, as a nation—still have much to learn.