"The dominant view in political history is that the United States has made steady progress in making the country a more racially inclusive society. This work challenges that view, contending that racial progress has been exceptional rather than the rule and usually comes as a result of societal crisis."

Recommended by Charles P. Henry, professor of African-American Studies, and Robert L. Allen, Adjunct Professor of African American Studies and Ethnic Studies, editors of The Obama Phenomenon: Toward a Multiracial Democracy.