I believe that, if Bruce Bechdel traveled to our year, then 1967, then back again, he would think that racial identity would be vital to every American's life.  Near the end of Fun Home, he writes to Alison about his regrets in suppressing who he was.  He felt that he lost a big part of himself by conforming to what he thought he needed to be.  Bruce would probably feel that racial identity is important to everyone, as it allows them to gain some insight into who they are.  By providing a "base", racial identity allows people to further develop their own personal identity, and become someone who is truly "themselves".  If people aren't able to be themselves, either because they don't know who they are, or because they feel like they can't be that person, they'll feel constrained, and ultimately unhappy.  In 1967, a large portion of the population felt that they couldn't be who they really were.  Being themselves meant being denied civil right, or even bring violence onto themselves.  Those people chose to do something about their situation, and found a way to improve life for everyone.  Today, we are in a similar situation.  A large group of people felt oppressed for too long, felt that they weren't allowed to be who they really were.  They also chose to stand up and do something about it, and now their situation is slowly, but surely, getting better.  If Bruce saw all this, I think he'd be proud to see what life has become like for everyone in America.