The illumination of the White House on 24 June 2015, in celebratory reflection of the Supreme Court ruling that day that states cannot prohibit marriages between two people of the same sex, affirmed a commitment to diversity that isn't reflected in a traditional "White House," a space built by enslaved black people. Indeed, the absence of color denoted in the current color of our Executive Residence is a conscious and subconscious message to the nation and the world of how much work remains to be done in garnering a full understanding of our own history, and the work that is required, everyday, to conquer it. Painting the residence and changing its name from "White House" to "House of Many Colors" would reflect a concrete and emblematic commitment to that work.



