MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. – Anyone who has taken a stroll down The Strand in Manhattan Beach has probably noticed the bright, lime green house on the El Porto Beach end. 

The thousands of people who pass by that house on a daily basis are now met with two new signs: one showing support for the Black Lives Matter movement, and the other calling out a thief.

For homeowner, Bob Perkins, time has a way of changing your perspective.

“I don’t think I’m very different. I think my opinions have changed," he said.

Perkins is a self-proclaimed racist in recovery.

“I haven’t gotten to where I’m equally at ease with black guys as white guys. I’m not," Perkins explained. "It’s why I say I’m hopefully a recovering racist. I’m not out of the woods at all.”

Growing up in an all-white family with all white surroundings in the '40s, segregation was all Perkins knew. He's honest with himself and about his past, recalling a young man in college who had strong views he's now ashamed to admit.

“I belonged to a fraternity, all fine white privilege stuff, and my brothers wanted to pledge a Black guy," Perkins said.

When they did, Perkins dropped out of the fraternity, refusing to call a minority his brother. A Black man who would probably be very surprised to see the Black Lives Matter sign on Perkins' balcony now.

The 76-year-old can't think of an 'aha' moment. There was no particular incident that made him realize Black lives do mater. He can only attribute his shift in outlook to time and deep rooted conversations with people of color.

“We need to stop killing Black people for starters. That’s the immediate goal of the Black Lives Matter movement, I guess. But in addition, it’s not just the police. It’s the criminal justice system," he said.

When George Floyd died at the hands of Minneapolis Police, Bob decided to stand in solidarity for all of Manhattan Beach to see.

He hung a Black Lives Matter sign on his porch. Two weeks later, it was gone.

“There is no comparison between the loss I suffered with that little poster. It’s not like losing your life. It’s not like losing your family. It’s not like being sent to jail unjustly or having your family enslaved. It’s nothing like that, but I was angry," Perkins said.

Someone passing by told him they saw a sign identical to his in a trash can one block over. When he calmed down, Perkins made a new one with a message to the person who took the original sign. 

“I hope you needed it for a protest in support of BLM, in which case, I forgive you completely, though I wish you would’ve asked my permission first. However, I suspect you stole it for another reason, if so I’d like to discuss that reason with you. Just knock on my door.”

It's an invitation the thief hasn't yet accepted, but others have. Perkins is now facilitating the same conversations that gradually opened his own mind.

“Just because you love America doesn’t mean you don’t want to make it better. I’d like us to be the America we can be," he said.

A country with the courage to be critical of our past for a better future, to change and to decide now is the time for out with the old and in with the new.