Howard refused but accepted another position with the mayor instead, insisting that he did not feel victimized by the incident. On the contrary, Howard felt that he had learned from the situation. "I used to think it would be great if we could all be colorblind; that's naïve, especially for a white person, because a white person [can] afford to be colorblind. They don't have to think about race every day. An African American does."

Wow; I was surprised to get to the first controversy and discover such a thoughtful and empathetic take on the topic.