•  Children learn by example. Appreciate and respect people who are different from you and chances improve that your children will grow up in a more peaceful society.

•  A word is more than just a noise. It can hurt as much as it can heal. Visit area schools and ask children ages three-to-10 what words they consider hurtful and why; what they think the words they use, mean.

•  Gather children ages five-to-12 and ask them about their similarities and differences, and ask them which means more in the real world. They will be surprised to learn just how much alike they really are.

•  This year, the National Football League's Super Bowl featured teams led by Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith, the first African American coaches to guide teams in the title contest. The story, and that an African American coach would be the first of his race to earn the Vince Lombardi Trophy, resulted in media revisiting the first black quarterback to play a Super Bowl (Doug Williams was interviewed several times before Super Bowl XLI as he was before he played in Super Bowl XII), and other African American firsts. According to "Stinky the Bulldog" author, Jackie Valent, a human resources executive who realized a niche in diversity relations, the more we talk about these color-charted firsts, the more society perpetuates people's differences. Do you agree or disagree? Now that the game's hype has quieted, is there a consensus among people in your community?

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