The table of American history is a very ornate piece of furniture. A beautiful glass top is laid across it and lovely filigree graces the bottom of the four legs which are holding up the table, America. Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man speaks of a hidden leg beneath the table. One race did not build this country any more than one leg can hold up a table. Perhaps African American citizens sometimes still feel invisible at times today, as they are portrayed in Ellison's book. Perception, however, does not define truth. Likewise, it is possible to touch, hear, feel and know something is there, even though it is unseen and sometimes unheard.

The African slaves who once held up America by working morning, noon and night are still here today. The African Americans who were battered, bruised and cursed in the fifties are still here, rocking in their free...