The Myth of Black Progress

by Alphonso Pinkney

Overview

In this important analysis of the status of black Americans since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Professor Alphonso Pinkey refutes the popular neoconservative stance that race is no longer a major factor in the efforts of black Americans to achieve socioeconomic parity. Instead, Professor Pinkey argues, race continues to be an ever-present factor in American life. He bases his argument on detailed analysis of data that support his discussion of income and unemployment, the black middle class, the growing underclass and educational issues such as open admissions, busing and affirmative action.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521310475
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/27/1986
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	212
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.47(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; 1. Introduction: the persistence of racism in the United States; Part II. Economic decline and the rise of the new conservatism; Part III. Class and race in America; Part IV. White attitudes and behaviour toward black people; Part V. Income, occupation and unemployment; Part VI. The black middle class; Part VII. And the black underclass; Part VIII. Some educational issues; Part IX. Bakke, Weber and the myth of reverse discrimination; Part X. Black equity in white America; Notes; Index.

Editorial Reviews

'Pinkney, a sociologist, is measured in his analysis, yet grimly moving in his depiction of ghetto youths and their bleak outlook and acutely perceptive in his examination of the racist backlash following the Bakke decision in undercutting affirmative action.' Publishers Weekly

'Pinkney … concludes this well-reasoned and judicious polemic by stating 'the prospects for black equity in the future are not good' … Pinkney marshals facts that should lead objective students to conclude that although the plight of Afro-Americans is less dismal than it was 20 years ago … it is far from good … A 'must' …' Choice

'Professor Alphonso Pinkney has set out to convince us that if we disregard the poverty and social decay of the large minority underclass, we must expect - indeed in the Greek sense of inexorable moral retribution, we shall deserve - a new round of racial rebellion … If full-scale recession or depression recurs, the myth of racial progress may disintegrate before our eyes. Those who have read Pinkney's book will be morally and intellectually prepared.' The Philadelphia Inquirer

From the Publisher