This book explains why America can realize the civil rights dream in the 21st century--if U.S. citizens take actions as individuals as well as work together for equality. * Asks--and answers--the troubling question: Why have the civil rights hopes of the 1960s not yet been realized? * Demonstrates the relationship between what happens in everyday life and racism's persistence * Provides insightful historical context for racism as it exists the 21st century * Presents a framework for understanding how social forces preserve racism * Offers a refreshingly optimistic perspective that racism can be overcome