Racism in the classroom

So the other day, my friend tells me that in her English class, one of the students who sits near her is racist.

Apparently the teacher was asking how the students felt about Barack Obama becoming the President of the U.S, which was then commented at with a racist remark by this person.

The other students in the class -did nothing, said nothing. Maybe they felt it wasn't there place to say anything. Maybe they didn't know what to say.
Maybe they didn't realize that Mr. Obama not only now has the power, but the intelligence, the passion, and the values to change the way American
politics have been run.

Barack Obama is the face of change -socially, environmentally, economically and politically. It is obvious that Mr. Obama is a turning point in history -the first coloured man to hold the highest political seat -the coloured black man to become the President of the most powerful country in the world. He highly values family, health care and education. Rather than coming up with antidotes and treatments, he strives for prevention, education, and awareness.

He is the leader of the most powerful country in the world -and he got there by democracy. He was elected in by the people. So I ask you - the students in the classroom... When you hear somebody speak so ignorantly about someone so important to so many people, how do you react?

When you choose to hold your tongue on such topics - this is what I call unintentional carelessness.