There was incredulity and anger in the booming baritone of my friend’s voice. I hadn’t heard from him in more than a year, but when he called last month with such panic and urgency, I steeled myself for devastating news. Instead, he told me something that is so ordinary in my professional life I might not have noticed without his call.

“Did you hear President Obama talking about ‘acting white’ on the CBS Morning Show this morning?” he shouted into the receiver. “Yeah, girl, the president talked about your research but didn’t mention your name.”