Getting Beyond Race - The Changing American Culture.

AuthorRunyon, Cheryl
PositionReview

By Richard J. Payne. Westview Press, Boulder, Colo., 1998, 240 pages. $25.

This is a thoughtful book about how Americans can adopt a new way of thinking about race, reframing our racial problems by focusing on universal virtues, common interests and a sense of community.

Professor Payne believes that America is moving beyond viewing and valuing everyone on the basis of their skin color - due in part to the emergence of a strong and growing black middle class, generational change, interracial marriage, transracial adoption, and basic changes in attitude and behavior by individuals.

Payne says that reducing the significance of race cannot be accomplished at the governmental or institutional level, but must occur at the grassroots, by individuals or small groups. He believes that empathy for others, civility, honesty, personal courage and forgiveness are bedrock principles that individuals can employ to ensure that everyone is accepted and valued for his or her own worth.

Payne traces the history of racism in the United States and how racial categorization began for economic and social reasons. He also explores how old conceptions of race are being weakened by fundamental changes in American culture brought about by interpersonal contact, the influences on beliefs of media, religion, educational institutions and sports, and the development of a more mobile society.

Any discussion of race will raise certain "hot button" topics - affirmative action, the "one drop" rule (which designates as...

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