I know we're not supposed to talk about politics, but I just listened to a speech by Barack Obama on race relations in this country. It's something I've been longing to hear addressed for well over 40 years now.

I'm not speaking about politics. I'm speaking about race, but I'm not trying to "race bait" anyone.

Like Obama, my son is half black. I'm a white woman from Chicago, my ex-husband is a black man from Kentucky who moved to Chicago. I grew up hearing horrible racial slurs against blacks from my white neighbors. They threw rocks at Martin Luther King and called him a monkey when he came to Chicago back in the 60s. Their "Christian" excuse for their behavior made no sense to me.

My ex-husband grew up being treated like dirt in the south. As he'd walk down the street, white people in cars would call him names and throw garbage at him When we were married, white people threatened to kill us. We couldn't walk hand in hand down the street without some jerk saying something stupid to us. We watched our kind and gentle neighbor fight for his life on a ventilator after being attacked by policemen for driving through their white neighborhood. My own relatives in Arkansas disowned me for marrying a black man. My father was forced to choose between his brothers/sisters and his daughter. Lucky for me and my son, he chose us. He liked my ex-husband.

Which brings me to my son, a product of my marriage to my ex-husband - whom I loved very much and we continue to have a good relationship. When I listen to the racial slurs and political attacks against Obama, it feels like an attack on my own son. It stings like a bee because it's the reason my son has had to deal with so much unnecessary hatred and anger thrown at him (which continues) - how much unnecessary work I've had to do in order to make him strong enough to survive on the streets. It reminds me of the times I've had to sit quietly in pain as white people told "n*****" jokes or complained about them because I was too outnumbered for my voice to be heard.

I've talked about my son with many of you. He's been the light of my life from the moment he was conceived, and he's got a GOOD heart. I'm sure many of you have children/grandchildren who fall into the same category. How would YOU feel if people attacked your family based solely on skin color and life experience they had no control over? My son didn't ask to be born. Does he deserve to be called a "n*****" or treated like a second-class citizen in this country?