Understanding Interracial Unity: A Study of U.S. Race Relations

Front Cover
SAGE Publications, 1996 - Social Science - 230 pages
Positive interracial interactions have often been overshadowed by the disturbing persistence of racism. In this perceptive volume, Richard W. Thomas shows how the largely unnoticed interracial struggle for racial justice and harmony can serve as a model for overcoming racism on a much larger, even worldwide scale. Understanding Interracial Unity offers a proactive approach to many racially loaded issues, such as black poverty, crime and hopelessness, the barrier of white racism to black progress, and the widening gaps between black inner cities and white suburbs. Thomas begins by considering the history of interracial unity from colonial times to the present, focusing on key figures, including the Grimke sisters, Thaddeus Stevens, and Esther Brown. He also presents a sensitive and detailed examination of the inflexibility of racial status quos and the impact of black expectations and demands. Finally, this volume faces the state of race relations today and argues that blacks and whites must become increasingly aware of a shared history of struggle for equality to wage a successful battle against the institution of racism.

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