"A path-breaking analysis of the advent and consequences of deep class stratification in African American society since the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Characterized by breadth of vision and reflective realism, Rethinking the American Race Problem is a worthy and welcome successor to Gunnar Myrdal's seminal work, The American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy, published almost half a century ago."—Boris I. Bittker, Yale University "Insightful, tightly argued, and deeply felt. . . . This brilliant book will affect the thinking of all who read it."—William A. Fletcher, University of California "Rethinking the American Race Problem challenges the conventional understanding of the problem of race relations in the United States."—Gerrald Torres, University of Minnesota "Offers a fresh and intellectually provocative perspective on the relationship between race and public policy in today's America."—Martin Kilson, Harvard University

Rethinking the Color Line is a collection of theoretically-informed and empirically-grounded readings on race and race relations that illustrate how race and ethnicity influence aspects of social life in ways that are often made invisible by culture, politics and economics.

In this thought-provoking reexamination of the history of "racial science" Vernon J. Williams argues that all current theories of race and race relations can be understood as extensions of or reactions to the theories formulated during the first half of the twentieth century. Williams explores these theories in a carefully crafted analysis of Franz Boas and his influence upon his contemporaries, especially W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington, George W. Ellis, and Robert E. Park. Historians have long recognized the monumental role Franz Boas played in eviscerating the racist worldview that prevailed in the American social sciences. Williams reconsiders the standard portrait of Boas and offers a new understanding of a man who never fully escaped the racist assumptions of 19th-century anthropology but nevertheless successfully argued that African Americans could assimiliate into American society and that the chief obstacle facing them was not heredity but the prejudice of white America.

User-friendly without sacrificing intellectual or theoretical rigor, this anthology of current research examines contemporary issues and explores new approaches to the study of race and ethnic relations. The featured readings effectively engage students by helping them understand theories and concepts. Active learning in the classroom is encouraged while providing relevance for students from all ethnic, cultural, and economic backgrounds. The fifth edition features ten new articles on such timely topics as: • The U.S. Census’ changing definition of race and ethnicity • Race-based disparities in health • Racial and gender discrimination among racial minorities and women • Being Arab and American • How social control maintains racial inequality • The increase in black and brown incarceration • How racial bias may affect the use of DNA to locate suspects of crimes • How derogatory ethnic and racial images are created and disseminated by the media • The sexualization of African American women through the use of gender stereotypes • The portrayal of light- and dark-skinned biracial characters

This book discusses various aspects of race and its manifestations using both academic and secular references, and ultimately presents a challenge to America to recognize its race problem by examining its present-day perceptions, language, and behavior. Topics discussed include color, normalcy, racial priority, and slavery's legacy.