I would say it's probably safe to assume that racism affects most if not all people at some point. Consider for a moment that the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, just 48 years ago. Many of the people who fought for or against racial equality are still alive, and not everyone against equality changed their minds just because a law was passed. And that's just one (very large and important) example. We, as a society, are moving closer and closer to greater tolerance and understanding of people with different racial and cultural backgrounds, but the reality is that one of the reasons we are moving towards more peaceful integration is that new generations of people are growing up in a more culturally diverse environment. Younger generations are more tolerant, but the intolerant in older generations are usually just as intolerant. The residual effects of centuries of racism will remain for generations (maybe forever), and events will occur that may make previously tolerant people believe that racism is justified or even necessary (think 9/11. We'll always remember.) The best we can do is to continue to teach new generations to respect others and to see people as individuals and hope that future generations won't have to struggle with racism the way many have.