Racism and the church, part 1

Racism: 'An ideology of intellectual or moral superiority based upon the biological characteristics of race.'- D'Souza Martin Luther King, Jr. defined racism as a 'doctrine of the congenital inferiority and worthlessness of a people.'
My original thought was to walk through Dinesh D'Souza's 'The End of Racism' through different blog posts, viewing the origins, ravages, and future of racism in our country. Probing questions arise: If my ancestors were victims of racism, am I born into a life of disadvantage? A question more pertinent to my situations is this: If my ancestors were racist, am I inclined to live as an avid racist? Thank God, the short answer is a resounding 'NO'! This leads me to shift my original ideas for these posts to something much closer to my heart: racial reconciliation within the Body of Christ.
I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I'm perpetually pissed to no degree to hear racism come from the mouths of church leadership. It's not only poor leadership and poor representation, it squanders the very heart of the Gospel on cheap jokes. Racism is and has been a great problem in our country. No one generation originated the problem, no one generation will completely solve it. What I am primarily interested in is conveying the great responsibility we have as the Church, to live the Gospel out as Christ intended. This involves a life style free of prejudice, a family raised to view ALL people created in the image of God. I'm not merely talking about some kind of pathetic, overreaching, affirmative action, hand-holding, Jesse Jackson kind of love. No, this is the real deal. The Gospel is literally at stake, and choosing not to engage is willingly choosing to disengage. A disengaged Gospel isn't pretty. It isn't real.