By the Color of Our Skin: The Illusion of Integration and the Reality of Race

by Barbara Diggs-Brown, Leonard Steinhorn

While signs of racial progress are everywhere, the reality is that America is hardly more integrated than it was before the civil rights movement. Beyond the rhetoric of politicians, the media, and the prevalent symbols of integration lies a very different 70 percent of black children attend predominantly black schools; and an Hispanic or Asian American with a third grade education is more likely to live in an integrated neighborhood than is a black with a Ph.D. Fueled by these startling statistics, By the Color of Our Skin argues that integration does not exist now; that it never had a chance to exist in the past; and that it will never exist in the future. Leonard Steinhorn and Barbara Diggs-Brown would themselves like to see integration become a reality but find--through polls, statistics, interviews, and anecdotes--that the illusion of integration is more damaging than useful because it keeps society from having an honest dialogue about the problem of race. By the Color of Our Skin explodes powerful myths and outlines a new vision of race in America.

Genres: Race, Nonfiction, History, Sociology

322 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Antonio · Rating 4 out of 5]

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This is a good read that makes us really explore who we are rather than who we think we are, the sad reality behind the lives we actually lead and the way we want to see ourselves. One of our nations's proudest and most remarkable achievements is how we have embrace, welcomed, and united an extraordinary number of nationalities, religion, and ethnic groups. A feat replicated by no other nation. Why haven't we enlarged the melting pot to include African-Americans? Our failure for integration is even more tragic when you think about how African-Americans are one of the most American of all ethnic groups. A people who have worked hard, played by all the rules, and deferred gratification literally for centuries.

[Sugy · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting read. would be nice to see written today, just 10 years later. i enjoyed how it disussed many different levels of the issue, but felt as though it was written almost like a set of excuses for behavior. definitely something to think about...