Chester Hartman (Ed.), Challenges to Equality: Poverty and Race in America.

Chester Hartman (Ed.), Challenges to Equality: Poverty and Race in America. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2001. $ 68.95 hardcover, $ 26.95 papercover.

Racial oppression and institutional discrimination in modern-day America is a real and all too tangible aspect of the social fabric. Examples abound--the voting fiasco in Florida; the disparity of resources in the Oakland School District; the environmental racism of East St. Louis; the growing number of welfare clients who are being `timed out' of welfare; the disproportionately higher rates of illness and death for minority children; the high risk of African-Americans experiencing impoverishment in their lifetime. The litany goes on and the need for effective change is urgent.

Many Americans do not see or choose not to believe that racism festers at the heart of society. Led by savvy neo-conservative Republicans who gained the political grandstand in the mid-1980s, the national agenda has turned away from eradicating racial inequality and back to blaming individuals for their lack of success. In the view of many Americans, to make racism an issue of inequality is, in this era of individualism, un-American. And yet, racism thrives just below the social surface in so many aspects of social life. The political trumpet calls Americans to arms of individual responsibility and civil commitment. Any citizen who is in need is seen as deviant. In this spirit of individual responsibility, many of the programs and policies intended to reduce disparity of opportunity have been derailed. Recent legislative action to end Affirmative Action is one example; the so-called welfare reform legislation of 1996 is another.

Congressman John Lewis, in his opening remarks for Chester Hartman's compilation of essays on race and inequality in America, writes poignantly that America is a single family, living in the same house comprised of many different rooms, and sharing one roof. Should one section of the house fall, the roof comes down on all. Thus begins a necessary discussion on racism in America. The question is not whether racism and inequality exist in America, but rather, how can racism and inequality be eradicated in the 21st Century?

This book is a conversation about racism. Hartman has gathered some of the most prominent thinkers of the time and allowed them space to debate the policies of the day in the areas of racial integration, poverty, education, democratic participation, and environmental justice. The result is a lively, informative discussion on the path the United States needs to take in order to effectively end racism and eliminate inequality. The essays provide a focused perspective on salient issues, not only depicting the reality of what is, but dreaming of what could be. Rather than merely decrying society's lack of response to racial inequality, the essays are replete with potential solutions. Whether these solutions will be implemented, remains to be seen.

Hartman's book is a `must-read' for social scientists, academics, policy makers and students alike. The edited collection is informative, provocative, and engaging. Perhaps the only shortcoming of the work is lack of coherence across the essays. A concluding section that weaves the ideas of the different authors into an American response to racial inequality would strengthen the overarching message of the book, that America divided will never enjoy national security or tranquility.