OMG. I’m always amazed when anyone in the entertainment biz reacts that way. Whatever happened to the idea of theater being a place where conflict is honestly and respectfully explored as a catalyst for understanding and, hopefully, progress?

As to my perspective, when I grew up Vermont was about as monochromatic as it could possibly be. Back then, Vermont was politically republican (note the small “r”) more for a libertarian “live and let live” philosophy. My folks were democrats (small “d”) but cultural diversity was never a local issue. The racial upheaval of the ’60s was seen through a telephoto lens.

The racial incident that had the most impact on me came much later while at a conference in New Orleans in the early 1980s. I was walking down a lonely sidewalk in the middle of a hot summer day when I saw an elderly black man walking toward me from the opposite direction. He was dressed impeccably in a summer weight tan poplin suit, perfectly pressed white shirt, silk bow tie and recently shined medium brown shoes. He looked to be in his late 80’s or early 90’s to me and, as we grew closer, he stepped off the sidewalk onto the grass and paused with his eyes focused on the ground. I assumed he was simply taking a break from his walk and wished him a good afternoon as I passed. Immediately after I passed him he silently returned to the sidewalk and continued on his way. I turned to watch him and it occurred to me that the real reason he’d stepped off the sidewalk was in deference to me because I was white.

That moment haunts me to this day.