“That’s just the way it is” is what Ben Sims heard throughout his life when he questioned why he was treated differently from white children or coworkers. It was a sentence that did not sit well with him, and he kept that inquisitive mindset throughout his career in the Air Force, his university education, and his jobs with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

He has encountered racism in various forms but vowed not to yield to its principles and limitations, and he has always found a wa...