Anti-Black Racism in America : Is It Declining?

This book presents a fresh, comprehensive look at American Black-White relations. Drawing on his decades of experience at the intersection of social psychology and intergroup relations, Thomas F. Pettigrew demonstrates the advances made in recent years that promise a decline in anti-Black racism--especially in politics and education, but also highlights where American racism remains firmly entrenched--in economics, housing, and the justice system. The book emphasizes the central importance of segregated housing that restrains both interracial contact and the growth of Black-American wealth. It closes with new proposal for Black reparations that could be generated from billionaires alone.

Over the last century, the United States and much of the world broadly has seen massive social change with respect to attitudes and beliefs about anti-Black racism. But change alone does not ensure a decline in racism. In Anti-Black Racism in America, renowned race relations scholar Thomas F. Pettigrew undertakes a comprehensive assessment of the key trends in racism against Black Americans, drawing on a wide range of scholarship and his own decades of experience in the field. The book describes the advances made in recent years that promise a decline in anti-Black racism--especially in politics and education, but it also highlights where American racism remains firmly entrenched--in economics, housing, and the justice system. Employing significant insights from social psychology, such as understanding implicit prejudice and the importance of intergroup contact, Pettigrew lays out a theory of racism centering the importance of segregation in housing for its perpetuation, and makes the case for reparations funded by billionaires.