Examining the situations of African Americans in the U.S.A., Lucius Outlaw's essays illustrate over twenty years of work dedicated to articulating a 'critical theory of society' that would account for issues and limiting-factors affecting African-descended peoples in the U.S. Attempting to put politics aside, Outlaw writes from a non-partisan standpoint, in the hopes that the issues he raises in his essays will inspire improvement for the well-bring of African Americans and will also strengthen America's democracy. Outlaw envisions a democratic order that is not built upon racist projections of the past. Instead, he seeks in these essays a transformative social theory that would help create a truly democratic social order.

Lucius T. Outlaw, Jr. is the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education and Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University.

Chapter 1 PrefaceChapter 2 Critical Social Thought in the Interest of Black FolksChapter 3 Foundations of a New Black Movement: Theoretical and Practical DimensionsChapter 4 African American Socio-Political Thought: A Critical OverviewChapter 5 On Race and Class (Or, On the Prospects of Rainbow Socialism)Chapter 6 Toward a Critical Theory of RaceChapter 7 Critical Theory in a Period of Radical TransformationChapter 8 Racial and Ethnic Complexities in American Life: Implications for Black FolksChapter 9 Conserve Races?: In Defense of W.E.B. Du BoisChapter 10 Multiculturalism,Citizenship, Education, and U.S. American Liberal DemocracyChapter 11 Postscript: The Quest for a Partisan Theory of Society