Rinku Sen's headline for this piece, "It Takes a Nation of Cowards to Prove Holder Right," sure seems to hit the nail on the head given the backlash to this speech. I found Holder's remarks to be candid and courageous.It gives me hope that our justice department may now be in good hands and may actually be committed to pursuing justice. What a dramatic departure from those who most recently held the post of Attorney General.

For those who are still tripping over Holder's use of the word "coward," I urge you to listen to his full remarks. During Black History Month, instead of focusing solely on history -- as important as that is -- Holder calls upon us to also enage in cross-racial dialogue and to "confront that which we have become expert at avoiding." He says, "to get to the heart of this country, we must examine it's racist soul." I don't interpret this to be a personal attack on anyone. Rather, he is challenging us to examine where we, as a society, have collectively failed so that we can all take responsibility in building a nation that is truly inclusive of all of our communities and aspirations. He calls upon us to become "more positively race conscious."

The past cannot be changed, but it sure could be a new day if we took up Holder's challenge to finally deal with the racial inequality that continues to plague our country. The choice is clear: we can turn a blind eye with continued cowardice or we can consciously and courageously create a unifying path forward.