I am a white male with a long-term Black boyfriend. A number of years ago I worked in a very progressive social service agency in a large Northern (U.S.) city. We hired a young man to work in our maintenance dept. An aspiring musician, he was very friendly ... albeit in a somewhat goofy way. If I recall correctly, he had come to this country from somewhere in the south of Europe.

One day he asked if he could speak with me and I invited him into my office. I knew that he had seen me with my boyfriend, but I wasn't prepared for his question. He sat down, leaned forward and asked, "Is it true that Black people smell different from white people?"

I am opinionated and have a lot of self-confidence , so it is difficult to leave me speechless, but he accomplished it. I just stared at him. I don't believe that he intended to be offensive ... he was simply a naive and ignorant kid who had obviously come across some boilerplate, racist nonsense. And of course, the sad thing is that it happens every day.