>> It made me realize how ever-present the issues of race are for people of color.

In fact, they might be as important or even more important for white people (or whatever the PC word is for people who are not "of color")

A comparison of the election results state by state for JFK's election in 1960 with those for Obama in 2008 shows dramatically how the supreme court decisions on race during the late 50's and the civil right legislation passed by JFK and JBJ during the 60's turned the political and social landscape in the US on it head and its effects are still reverberating.
Strom Thurmond was once a democrat but like most southern politicians, he changed parties after the passage of the civil rights legislation.
Nixon's "southern strategy" with its attacks on affirmative action, bussing, etc was a clear effort to court disaffected whites, and it worked, with the result that the majority of white people in the south now vote republican.