The analysis begins with a critique of Gunnar Myrdal's study titled "An American Dilemma" and the reasons why it was considered the definitive study of race for nearly two decades after its publication in 1944. The discussion notes that Myrdal failed to anticipate black insurgency and the civil rights upheaval of the early 1960s, and that his acclaimed theoretical framework was of little use aiding understanding of these unanticipated events. The author also points out that the process of racial change in the 1960s was exactly opposite to what Myrdal would have predicted in that it was a grassroots political movement with its own organizational structure. The discussion further notes that the racial crisis resulted in new models and a scholarship of confrontation. However, this intellectual renaissance ended before it could fully develop an alternative paradigm to the one that had prevailed before the civil rights upheaval. The subsequent years have experienced a reversion to earlier models and assumptions, fueled by an escalating racial backlash in society at large. The analysis concludes that during its history the United States has lost many opportunities to come to terms with and eradicate the legacy of slavery, that the book "The Bell Curve" represents a metaphorical step back in its race history, and that the country is currently at a crossroads in which it can choose to turn back toward the past or establish a new path leading to a historical reconciliation between black and white citizens. Chapter reference notes and index