I hear what you're saying, Istiota, and I wonder if we can, instead of stopping thinking of ourselves as white, black, etc., just ADD an expanded level of awareness, that acknowledges and celebrates the reality of our diversity and doesn't try to eliminate it, and simultaneously recognizes that we're all one interconnected whole.

I think of developmental stages...we begin identifying ourselves as one with our mother, then we separate and realize we're independent, but still part of a larger whole called a family...and then part of a larger whole called a community...and nation...culture...earth community...etc. Recognizing ourselves as part of larger identities doesn't have to invalidate the nested ones that come before.

My sense is that when we recognize ourselves as part of something larger, the conditioned fear I have of those who are "not I" naturally subsides, and I see everyone and everything as co-extensive with me.