The Challenge to Racial Stratification

Book excerpt: The National Political Science Review is the official publication of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists. This series, now entering its fourth volume, includes significant scholarly research reflecting the diverse interests of scholars from various backgrounds who use different models, approaches, and methodologies. The central focus is on politics and policies that advantage or disadvantage groups because of race, ethnicity, gender, and other major variables. In his introduction to this volume, Matthew Holden describes the rationale for the creation of American racial stratification, and boldly shows how American intellectuals have helped reinforce that stratification. Several chapters discuss conflicts in contemporary views of the United States, ranging from a belief in its being a free society to the historical reality of the nation's background as a slave society. Other chapters address the international problem of racial stratification, concentrating on Nigeria and South Africa.