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

by Richard W. Thomas

The history of interracial unity and cooperation in the United States from the Colonial period to the present is examined in this volume. Topics discussed the tendency to maintain the racial status quo; the impact of black expectations and demands; and the role of whites in the struggle for racial equality over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Richard W Thomas concludes with a consideration of race relations in the contemporary United States. He argues that people of all colours must become aware of their shared history of interracial struggles for equality if racism is to be truly tackled.

240 pages, Paperback

First published December 4, 1995

About the author

Dr. Richard W. Thomas is Professor Emeritus of History at Michigan State University. He is also the husband of June Manning Thomas.

Reviews

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Thomas gives us a look at what he calls the other tradition of American race relations, paralleling the the tradition of racism, which is the legacy of black and white Americans working together to advance social change. In this book, he looks at relationships that were at the core of America's major social change movements (abolition, Civil Rights, etc). He uses primary sources to bring us into the nuances of black-white partnerships, such as letters from Frederick Douglass describing paternalistic behavior to white abolitions. A good read for those of us who thing "being in the room together" is enough.