eric holder's nation of cowards thing was interesting. i think we learned not to talk frankly about race because of all the explosive possibilities, how easy it is to put a foot wrong, the massive informal and formal enforcement of pc speech codes etc. but here, eric, is a sample of what what you're asking for. there is still a hierarchy, conceived within the black community and the white community, of "black" people by skin-tone. still sense in the term high yellow, for instance, as you can tell when you get a gander at black aristocracy, such as, er, eric holder's family.