a little vent on the state of racism

I like to think of myself as a fairly open minded person. I try not to judge people (i fail at this often) but when i do i judge them on their actions, not their appearance. I can't understand how such an archaic mindset as racism is still around, but even in 2009 and as far north as you can get before you get your feet wet, i still run into it on a daily basis. Living in Cleveland, we don't have a massively diverse culture in my opinion. We have smatterings of just about everyone but it is predominatly black and white. Now i don't know what it is about looking different from one another but it sure makes a difference when interacting with different colored people. One of my real good friends i worked with (he had to good fortune to move on to a more rewarding place of employment) is black and i am white. I noticed that black people would ignore me when i wished them good morning but would smile and wave at my friend. I asked if he knew them or had talked with them before and they were total strangers. On the reverse of that several of the white employees would not tarry and talk to me when my black friend was around and working with me.
This kind of thinking seems self destructive and self defeating. My friend is a source of great humor and insight in my life and couldn't even dream of not talking to him just because he is black. Edward James Olmos of Battlestar Galatica fame spoke at a special conference with the United Nations a little while ago and just recently he was interviewed on G4TV's Attack of the Show and he commented on his experience there. He revealed that the UN is changing the charter to never again use the word race to define or seperate a group of people. There is only the human race, not the black, brown, yellow, white, etc race. Just humans. With all the "forward" thinking that supposedly goes on here in the United States and all the higher thinking that everyone claims to do, why does it take a SciFi series to show us what we should be doing?
I have been a fan of the series (i have yet to see the last season though) and i am impressed how cleverly the directors and writers touch on such topics as racism, terrorism, forgiveness, and war and people find it entertaining. I just wish that the greater populace could take a deeper message away from the couch with them.