Rev. Jesse Jackson accused Senator Obama of acting white. While growing up in Texas, many of the black kids in my school would call me an Oreo – black on the outside, white on the inside – because they believed I was "acting white." These kids would try to beat me up because I spoke proper English, attended honor’s classes, and had white friends. They also took issue with my African name and frequently chided me to "go back to Africa and swing through the trees with monkeys." This was my first taste of discrimination, years before the first n-word was shouted at me from a passing pick-up truck. Many of my black friends today have similar stories. Name calling has no place on a playground much less in the national political discourse. It is sad to see this played out in the media, but shame on Rev. Jackson for "validating" that we should all fit into neat, predetermined, racial behavioral boxes.