They and We

The first edition of They and We appeared shortly after the March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his memorable "I Have a Dream" speech. It was published just before the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed by Congress. The book, read by tens of thousands, has been updated and expanded five times, each edition maintaining the original intention of the author to provide grounding in the sociological study of inter-group relations: examining prejudice, discrimination, minority status and other core concepts in straightforward, jargon-free prose, as well as tracking social, economic, political and legal developments. The new, 7th (50th anniversary) edition of They and We continues the tradition, depicting recent demographic changes and persisting patterns (such as the 'leapfrog' phenomenon, where, as in the past, many African-Americans are left behind as newer groups move in, up, and over). It also covers new developments, including the rise of Islamophobia in the wake of 9/11. An entirely new chapter compares perspectives in the United States with situations overseas, particularly with regard to nativist and nationalist movements and the rise of xenophobia in this society and in many others.

Peter I. Rose