It seems obvious that race relations in the 21^st century are much better than they were during the majority of the 20^th century. Despite this apparent reality, when it comes to race relations, Black and White Americans don’t exactly agree on how much things have changed over the years.

Even though there currently is an African American running for president, an Indian American serving as governor of Louisiana, an African American woman as Secretary of State, and several other minorities serving in high positions in both business and government, workplace diversity still has a long way to go.

A few years ago I had a lovely three course lunch with a few of my African American, Hispanic, and Asian friends at the world famous Tavern on the Green restaurant, just off of Central Park in New York City. The atmosphere and the food were wonderful, but according to a recent settlement what was alleged to be going on behind the scenes at the famed restaurant was something quite the opposite.

A new study has found that 76 percent of global senior executives say that their companies have one or no minorities among their top five executives, despite the fact that a majority of the companies (54 percent) have implemented workplace diversity policies.

No matter how anyone tries to spin it, discrimination in the workplace is illegal. The damage that workplace discrimination can do to employees is well documented, as are the numerous cases where companies have been forced to pay millions of dollars to settle discrimination claims.

As Barack Obama continues to make progress as a serious candidate for President of the United States, it may appear to many of us that we as a nation have come very far in the fight against racism.

Earlier this month, Charles Sheppard, the St. Clair, Michigan County Human Resources Director, received a disturbing letter. The letter was addressed to Sheppard, who is Black, and while it contained no threats, it spoke in detail about black men and "the crimes they’ve committed."