Race Relations: Opposing Viewpoints is a book, in the Opposing Viewpoints Series

Opposing Viewpoints series

The Opposing Viewpoints series is a series of books on current issues which seeks to explore the varying opinions in a balanced pros/cons debate...

, presenting selections of viewpoints on four central questions about race relations: what is the state of race relations in America; is racism

Racism

Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

 a serious problem; what should the government do to improve race relations; and how can society improve race relations? It was edited by James D. Torr.

It was published by Greenhaven Press

Greenhaven Press

Greenhaven Press has been an imprint of Gale since 2000. Greenhaven primarily publishes books on social issues for middle school and high school students, and is best known for its Opposing Viewpoints series...

 (Farmington Hills) in 2005 as a 208-page hardcover (ISBN 0-7377-2955-4) and paperback (ISBN 0-7377-2956-2).

Contents

Chapter	Viewpoint	Author	Notes
Why Consider Opposing Viewpoints?
Introduction
Chapter 1: What Is the State of Race Relations in America?	1. Race Relations Are Worsening	Deborah Mathis Deborah Mathis Deborah Mathis, a native of Little Rock, Arkansas, is an African American journalist and author. Her journalism career began as a reporter for the Arkansas Democrat, a major newspaper in Arkansas. She also worked in television news in Little Rock and Washington. She was White House correspondent...
	2. Race Relations Are Improving	Abigail Thernstrom Abigail Thernstrom Abigail Thernstrom, a conservative political scientist, is a former Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute in New York, a member of the Massachusetts Board of Education, and vice chair of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. She received her Ph.D... , interviewed by Charlotte Hays	Reprint of "What Nobody Wants to Say about Race: Author and Civil Rights Commissioner Abigail Thernstrom talks to Charlotte Hays."
	3. Americans Are Embracing Diversity Multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...	Dominic J. Pulera
	4. Most Americans Have Not Embraced Diversity	David Brooks David Brooks (journalist) David Brooks is a Canadian-born political and cultural commentator who considers himself a moderate and writes for the New York Times...	Reprint of "People Like Us" in The Atlantic Monthly The Atlantic Monthly The Atlantic is an American magazine founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1857. It was created as a literary and cultural commentary magazine. It quickly achieved a national reputation, which it held for more than a century. It was important for recognizing and publishing new writers and poets,... , September 2003.
	5. White Guilt Over Racial Issues Contributes to Poor Race Relations	Shelby Steele Shelby Steele -Awards:*National Book Critics Circle Award in the general non-fiction category for the book The Content of Our Character.*Emmy and Writers Guild Awards for his 1991 Frontline documentary film Seven Days in Bensonhurst.-External links:**...	Excerpt from "The Age of White Guilt: And The Disappearance of the Black Individual" in Harper's Magazine Harper's Magazine Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010... , November 30, 1999.
	6. White Denial of Racial Issues Contributes to Poor Race Relations	Manning Marable Manning Marable William Manning Marable was an American professor of public affairs, history and African-American Studies at Columbia University. Marable founded and directed the Institute for Research in African-American Studies. Marable authored several texts and was active in progressive political causes...
	7. Hispanic Hispanic Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...  Immigration Immigration Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...  Threatens to Divide America	Samuel P. Huntington Samuel P. Huntington Samuel Phillips Huntington was an influential American political scientist who wrote highly-regarded books in a half-dozen sub-fields of political science, starting in 1957...
	8. Hispanic Immigration Does Not Threaten to Divide America	Jan Jarboe Russell	Reprint of "Viva la Diferencia," Texas Monthly Texas Monthly Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education... , June 2004.
Chapter 2: Is Racism a Serious Problem?	1. Racism Causes Serious Social and Economic Inequality	Joe R. Feagin and Karyn D. McKinney
	2. The Extent of Racial Inequality is Exaggerated	Steve Miller	Reprint of "Blacks Thriving Economically," Insight on the News, March 4, 2002
	3. Racism is a Problem in the Health Care Health care Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...  System	Institute of Medicine Institute of Medicine The Institute of Medicine is a not-for-profit, non-governmental American organization founded in 1970, under the congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences...
	4. The Problem of Racism in the Health Care System Is Exaggerated	Sally Satel Sally Satel Sally Satel, is an American psychiatrist based in Washington, D.C. She is a lecturer at Yale University School of Medicine, the W.H. Brady Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and author. Books written by Satel include P.C. M.D.: How Political Correctness is Corrupting Medicine and Drug...  and Jonathan Klick Jonathan Klick Jonathan Klick is an American economist who has written numerous works on empirical law and economics. His scholarship addresses tort liability and moral hazard, criminal punishment, health regulation, and business regulation. He is a Professor of Law at University of Pennsylvania Law School and...	Reprint of "Don't Despair over Disparities," The Weekly Standard The Weekly Standard The Weekly Standard is an American neoconservative opinion magazine published 48 times per year. Its founding publisher, News Corporation, debuted the title September 18, 1995. Currently edited by founder William Kristol and Fred Barnes, the Standard has been described as a "redoubt of... , March 1, 2004.
Chapter 3: What Should the Government Do to Improve Race Relations?	1. Race Should Be a Consideration in Public Policy	Michael Eric Dyson
	2. Race Should Not Be a Consideration in Public Policy	Ward Connerly Ward Connerly Wardell Anthony "Ward" Connerly is an American political activist, businessman, and former University of California Regent . He is also the founder and the chairman of the American Civil Rights Institute, a national non-profit organization in opposition to racial and gender preferences...	Reprint of "Don't Box Me In: An End to Racial Checkoffs," National Review National Review National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the... , April 16, 2001.
	3. The U.S. Government Should Pay Reparations Reparations for slavery Reparations for slavery is a proposal that some type of compensation should be provided to the descendants of enslaved people in the United States, in consideration of the coerced and uncompensated labor their ancestors performed over several centuries...  to Blacks Black people The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...  for Slavery Slavery Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...	Randall Robinson Randall Robinson Randall Robinson is an African-American lawyer, author and activist, noted as the founder of TransAfrica. He is known particularly for his impassioned opposition to South African apartheid, and for his advocacy on behalf of Haitian immigrants and Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.-Early...	Reprint of a "Reparations - More Than Just A Check," The Black Collegian.
	4. The U.S. Government Should Not Pay Reparations to Blacks for Slavery	E.R. Shipp E.R. Shipp E.R. Shipp is an American journalist and columnist. As a columnist for the New York Daily News, she was awarded the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for "her penetrating columns on race, welfare and other social issues."...	Reprint of "Does America Owe Us?," Essence, February 2003.
Chapter 4: How Can Society Improve Race Relations?	1. Interracial Marriages Will Lead to Greater Racial Harmony	Gregory Rodriguez	Reprint of "Mongrel America," The Atlantic, January, 2003.
	2. The Effect of Interracial Marriages on Race Relations Is Exaggerated	Renee C. Romano
	3. Schools and Businesses Should Promote Diversity	Business-Higher Education Forum
	4. Schools and Businesses Should Not Promote Diversity	Heather Mac Donald Heather Mac Donald Heather Lynn Mac Donald is an American political commentator and thinker notable for her advocacy of secular conservatism. She has advocated her positions on numerous subjects including crime prevention, immigration reform, academia, the art world, and politics. She is a prolific essayist...	Reprint of "The Diversity Taboo," The Weekly Standard The Weekly Standard The Weekly Standard is an American neoconservative opinion magazine published 48 times per year. Its founding publisher, News Corporation, debuted the title September 18, 1995. Currently edited by founder William Kristol and Fred Barnes, the Standard has been described as a "redoubt of... , January 26, 2004.
	5. Race-Based College Admissions Policies Should Be Banned	Carl Cohen Carl Cohen Carl Cohen is Professor of Philosophy at the Residential College of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is co-author of "The Animal Rights Debate" , a point-counterpoint volume with Prof...	Reprint of "Winks, Nods, Disguises-and Racial Preference," Commentary Commentary (magazine) Commentary is a monthly American magazine on politics, Judaism, social and cultural issues. It was founded by the American Jewish Committee in 1945. By 1960 its editor was Norman Podhoretz, a liberal at the time who moved sharply to the right in the 1970s and 1980s becoming a strong voice for the... , September 1, 2003.
	6. Race-Based College Admissions Policies Should Not Be Banned	Jeffrey Rosen Jeffrey Rosen Jeffrey Rosen is an American academic and commentator on legal affairs. Legal historian David Garrow has called him "the nation's most widely read and influential legal commentator."-Biography:...	Reprint of "Getting Affirmative Action Right: Light Footprint," The New Republic The New Republic The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States... , July 7, 2003.
For Further Discussion
Organizations to Contact
Bibliography of Books
Index