Eric,
Yes, we have come a long way but as you say we still have a ways to go........
And who knows where  we really are today?  Reading these comments, we see that  many people think they know  how black people really feel today...but do they?
I'd suggest that rather than asking a white law professor what she thinks, we might want to ask black folks themselves....unless that is too radical these days.
Eric, lets' ask the local NAACP to hold a representative panel discussion on "What it feels like to be a black person in Eugene today."
While their answers  might not please some of the posters here, it would be a better way of finding  out what "Black Like Me" is  truly like in today's Oregon.  
DC