By the color of our skin

In this book, authors Leonard Steinhorn and Barbara Diggs-Brown - one white, the other black - tell us why they believe integration is a myth, and how the myth has become so deeply entrenched in our society. They begin by first acknowledging a painful truth: We are a nation divided by the color of our skin. With that as a starting point, they offer a critical analysis of race in America - and how the integration illusion keeps us from having honest dialogue and finding solutions.

Through detailed research, statistics, interviews, and anecdotes, they probe the depth of integration's failure in America by exploring the ways we live, learn, work, and think. They examine the gap between our attitudes and our behavior, between our perceptions and reality, by addressing such crucial questions as why blacks and whites see the world differently; why many whites believe that discrimination is a thing of the past; why blacks seem so angry; and why whites avoid intimacy with blacks.

They look at our history, culture, media, and politics to understand how the myth of integration is perpetuated. They discuss integration success stories and ask whether they can translate to the rest of society. And they tell us what we can do to bring us closer to being a more racially honest nation.