This volume represents the first publication in book form of the report of President Bill Clinton's Commission on Race Initiative. Although the document was originally released in 1998, its important contents were overshadowed by crises that diverted the president's and the media's attention. The commission's report contains the first comprehensive assessment of racial progress (or the lack thereof) in America since the heyday of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, along with many recommendations for improvement. It also extends the discussion of race relations beyond issues of black and white to encompass the new diversity of the nation's population in the twenty-first century. The book features Steven F. Lawson's introduction; a foreword by commission chair John Hope Franklin; President Clinton's speech that launched the commission; and, other useful materials that provide fresh information on American race relations today.

Steven F. Lawson is professor of history, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and author of Running for Freedom, 3rd edition (2008). He was scholar-adviser for the award-winning PBS documentary series Eyes on the Prize and has served as consultant for the Justice Department, the NAACP, and the ACLU on voting rights cases.

"This report, issued under the aegis of the Clinton administration and now placed in historical context by Professor Lawson, is a welcome addition to the dialogue on race in America."--Chandler Davidson, Rice University --Chandler Davidson