"For decades, examining race in America meant focusing on the advancement and struggles of people of color. Under this framework, being white was simply the default," writes Michele Norris in National Geographic's issue on race. Previously a host of NPR's All Things Considered, Norris is now the Director of The Bridge – the Aspen Institute's new program on race, identity and inclusion – building on her work as the founder of The Race Card Project. She tells The Atlantic's editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg that the public clashes over race may get our attention, but they also distract from the private conversations going on across America.

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