As the election heats up and folks begin to take things more personally, I was relieved to see a story on NPR that looked beyond the party lines and the mud being slung between the two. The piece, called “A Conversation: How Race Influences Two Voters” features a conversation between Greg Harden of Rochester, N.Y., and Trish Callahan of Portland, Maine - two people with very different backgrounds. Harden is white and has spent most of his life in the suburbs, while Callahan has a black biological father and a white biological mother but was raised by a white adopted family.

takepart to listen to the discussion now and takepart to join the discussion yourself and talk this issue through.

Race is of course a big issue this go around because Barack Obama is the first African-American presidential candidate.

For more on that specifically, read on:

• What Did He Do to be So Black and Blue? Obama and the Race Card
• McCain Camp Says Obama Is Playing ‘Race Card‘

*photo by Tampen