Race Matters

The fundamental litmus test for American democracy-its economy, government, criminal justice system, education, mass media, and culture-remains: how broad and intense are the arbitrary powers used and deployed against black people. In this sense, the problem of the twenty-first century remains the problem of the color line. —from the new Preface

First published in 1993 on the one-year anniversary of the L.A. riots, Race Matters was a national best-seller, and it has since…