America in Black and White: One Nation, Indivisible

by Stephan Thernstrom, Abigail Thernstrom

Stephan and Abigail Thernstrom make the claim that there have been great strides regarding the history of racism and argue that perhaps all will be equal in time.

In a book destined to become a classic, Stephan and Abigail Thernstrom present important new information about the positive changes that have been achieved and the measurable improvement in the lives of the majority of African Americans. Supporting their conclusions with statistics on education, earnings, and housing, they argue that the perception of serious racial divisions in this country is outdated—and dangerous.

Genres: Sociology, Politics, History, Race, Economics, Nonfiction

704 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Stephan Thernstrom was an American academic and historian who was the Winthrop Research Professor of History Emeritus at Harvard University. He was a specialist in ethnic and social history and was the editor of the Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups. He and his wife Abigail Thernstrom were prominent opponents of affirmative action in education and according to the New York Times, they "lead the conservative charge against racial preference in America."

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, solid data - quotas don't work well, school desegregation hasn't worked as planned, racial gerrymandering a bad idea, - well written

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific book that doesn't pull any punches.

[Donna O]

We are using this book to illustrate the conservative view on race relations in the U.S. So far in this book oversimplifies the issue.