When will the color fade?

I was speaking to a friend of mine yesterday who's of Indian decent. He went out for a walk as he does most everyday. I asked him how his walk was & he told me that a few white guys in a truck yelled out racist remarks at him as they were driving by. I apologized because I know how it feels. Any brown person in this country knows what it feels like to be at the receiving end of racial outbursts. I'm quite confident in saying that more than likely just about every minority in this country could recall a particular moment of being the victim of racism & I'm no different. There is one particular instance that stands out for me. When I was eighteen I was walking to a Burger King across the street from my home. As I was standing in the turning lane to cross the street a red pick-up truck passed with a few white guys in it. One of them spit on me thru the window & called me a Nigger. Its amazing how a person can break another persons spirit with a single act & a single word. I continued on to Burger King but instead of getting something to eat I rushed to the bathroom to wash my face & sit in one of the stalls for a cry. As I sat there with tear after tear rolling down my face I asked myself what did I do? At that time in my life I was Extremely naive. My brother was married to a white woman, my niece was bi-racial, and my very first boyfriend would end up being a white guy from Russia, so I didn't see color. As many things as there are that I dislike about every nationality/race there are an equal amount that I embrace & adore. I'm not going to give some useless speech of how we should all just love one another & get along for the greater good. Slavery ended hundreds of years ago & there is still no solidarity between blacks & whites or whites & any other minority for that matter. America is supposed to be one of the greatest countries in the world but why? Sure we are economically better off than some countries we consider to be third world but we still have a very long way to go socially. I don't really even think of being an American & what that means until its brought to my attention. Being an "African American" its even more confusing & complex to me. My ancestors didn't come here seeking refuge from other countries & sub-standard living conditions. We were brought here against our will & forced into slavery. Are we as blacks expected to harbor the same level of patriotism as our white counterparts who's ancestors chose this land to be their home? Even though we are consistently ostracized & reminded of our differences does America as a whole expect us to be loyal? It is my belief that loyalty stems from a certain amount of respect & respect has to be given in order to be received. Until people can realize this & open their minds to a broader & more understanding plateau of thinking our colors & differences will stand out as boldly as the colors on our flag that supposedly unites us & we will continue to be divided.