Major themes of the book concern how African Americans perceive society and the interaction between race and crime. Five specific themes are developed: (1) the United States is a hostile environment in which African Americans have been assigned an inferior status; (2) African Americans need to find both physical and psychological "safe spaces" in which to grow; (3) African Americans share a cultural heritage and a collective experience and memory of oppression that binds them together as a unique community; (4) internal divisions exist within the African American community that reflect the history of African Americans; and (5) strategies adopted by individuals and groups in response to the hostile environment in which African Americans live reflect these divisions. The authors argue that, during the era of slavery, a pattern of action-response-action was established and that this historical context shapes the present. References and notes