In 1966, I was traveling through the South with my mom and dad. My dad was an Irish American truck driver from Cambridge, who didn't spend much time thinking about the Civil Rights Movement. I was 5 and my best baby doll was Johnny, who happened to black. I had Johnny with me 24/7 for several months without incident. My parents stopped noticing that he was a black doll being carried by a white little girl. On the road, we stopped at a diner and the manager told my dad that we had to leave the doll in the car or eat take out. I'll never forget the look on my father's face as the inanity of discrimination dawned on him. We ate in the car as he used his expansive truck driver lingo to express his anger at the restaurant manager and the system of discrimination.

I think the alleged racist remarks by Donald Sterling, owner of LA Clippers, regarding Magic Johnson is delivering white Americans a moment like my dad did in 1965. Although I'd like to think the murder of young black men, like Trayvon Martin, would be a call to action, it's not.

According to reports, Sterling told his wife "...Don't put him [Magic] on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me. And don't bring him to my games."

The idea that an American sports and business leader like Magic Johnson is not immune from a business owner's racism is resonating with whites. The fact that no amount of success can change how a bigot sees him proves the point that racism is inane. And nobody wants to look stupid.