American society is singularly focused. Watch between five and ten television commercials and count the number of time you see a person of color. Think about our schools. Most schools do not have equal representation of teachers of ethnic origin other than white. Consider educational curriculum. The majority of American schools do not have courses that stress the contributions and accomplishments of black, Asian, Hispanic, Indian or Middle Eastern people.

One of the ways to building a more culturally aware society is to change the very biased, Caucasian-oriented school systems that exist today. American schools teach history courses in which honor and praise are given to Spartans who triumphantly won over Athenians in the Peloponnesian War; these course rarely teach of the great African Kingdoms of Ghana and Mali or of the intellectually and socially advanced center of learning at Timbuktu. Our schools teach of Plato the brilliant philosopher but never teach the outstanding, heavily meaningful words of Chinese philosophy of the Tao. Okonkwo was a strong and mighty warrior; why aren't his victories celebrated along with Beowulf's?

Increased cultural awareness is the key to decreasing racism. Perhaps if more people really knew about a variety of cultures they would be less ignorant and less apt to make rude judgments about others. Education is the way to create increased cultural awareness and decreased ignorance. American school systems should re-evaluate themselves and be the stepping stone to building a better, more ethnically knowledgeable American society. A better, more ethnically educated youth today could build a better future tomorrow.n