Race and Morality How Good Intentions Undermine Social Justice and Perpetuate Inequality

After I had finished my presentation, a colleague and I sat rocking on the hotel porch to discuss its merits. It was a picture-perfect fall day in Jekyll Island Georgia, and he was a friend. Yes, he explained, what I was saying seemed to be true. And yes it probably needed to be said, but why did I want to be the one to say it? Wasn't I, after all, a tenured professor who didn't need to make a fuss in order to retain his job? Didn't it make sense to just kick back and enjoy the easy life I had earned? The topic of our tete-a-tete was my speculations about race relations and he was certain that too much honesty could only get me in trouble. Given my lack of political correct­ ness, people were sure to assume that I was a racist and not give me a fair hearing. This was a prospect I had previously contemplated. Long before embarking on this volume I had often asked myself why I wanted to write it. The ideological fervor that dominates our public dialogue on race guaran­ teed that some people would perceive me as a dangerous scoundrel who had to be put in his place.

1. Moral Invisibility.- Moral versus Status Invisibility.- A White Problem.- The Problem Misunderstood.- The Long View.- 2. Moral Enemies.- White Depravity.- Black Innocence.- The Nature of the Morality Game.- Playing the Game.- 3. “Died of a Theory”.- Taxi Driver.- Stereotypes Exposed.- Harlem.- Whose Ox?.- 4. The American Creed.- Values Under Assault.- Equality for All.- Liberty for All.- An Overdose of Radical Egalitarianism.- 5. The Culture of Slavery: Origins.- Morality and Culture.- A Conceptual Interlude.- Cultural Conservatism in Action.- The Origins of Slave Culture.- 6. The Culture of Slavery: Outcomes.- Transitions.- A Painful Story.- White Culture.- Black Culture.- 7. Racial “Empowerment”.- The Myth of Empowerment.- Tests of Strength.- A Floating Ceiling.- Situational Immaturity.- 8. Change Strategies.- Four Approaches to Change.- The Moral Model.- The Social Engineering Model.- The Clinical/Educational Model.- The Structural/Cultural Model.- 9. Natural Resocialization.- Cultural Change.- Role Change.- Intrapersonal Cultural Change.- Interpersonal/Intergenerational Cultural Change.- The Role of the Change Agent.- 10. The Black Middle Class.- The Change Process.- Mobility-Friendly Values.- 11. The White Middle Class.- White Enablers.- The Stewardship Role.- Change Among Whites.- A Shared Humanity.- Endnotes.