"Jena 6" gave Americans a wake up call to a major soft spot in society today – race relations.

In this USA Today article, Marisol Bello, a talented reporter who used to work at my old paper the Detroit Free Press, compiles examples from across the country. She leads with a familiar anecdote from the University of Maryland.

Another example in Winchester, Ky., was particularly disturbing. In that case, four teens were charged with terroristic threats for taunting a black classmate with drawings of a noose, a Confederate flag and someone being whipped and lynched. I wasn’t necessarily disturbed by the actions of the teens – heck, it takes a lot to surprise me at this point. I was disgusted by the reaction of the parent of one of the offenders.

“I know he meant nothing by it,“ she said. “I know he’s not racist. He said he was just joking around. They were passing time in class."

Joking around? Passing time in class? Are you serious? I’m so sick of hearing the “he/she was just fooling around” excuse. People, take some ownership for your hate. Stop passing the buck…

Also, check out these stories about nooses found at the Coast Guard Academy and at Columbia University.

Race-relations in this country are in need of some serious attention. Read the entire article, and look at the description of the perpetrators. Are you also bothered by the fact that these incidents are taking place in learning environments?

What is being taught in the classroom to encourage civility and tolerance? What are schools doing to thwart the damaging, hateful thoughts that many parents are forcing upon their children? Are there any programs/ teachers that you know about that are working to encourage a better heterogenous tomorrow?