Chris Lehmann is. Joe Henderson is. And after returning home from New Orleans, where the race divide draws blood in your mind, it is so sharp, and listening to this speech by Obama this morning: so am I. I cannot remember, in my near 20 years of political awareness, a speech that so moved me with its compassion, intelligence, and courage.

I’ll be writing more about New Orleans very soon. But for now, let this story lay out the ground for the stories I encountered there. Please: listen.