Rethinking the Color Line helps make sense of how race and ethnicity influence aspects of social life in ways that are often made invisible by culture, politics, and economics. Charles A. Gallagher has assembled a collection of readings that are theoretically informed and empirically grounded to explain the dynamics of race and ethnicity in the United States. Students will be equipped to confidently navigate the issues of race and ethnicity, examine its contradictions, and gain a comprehensive understanding of how race and ethnic relations are embedded in the institutions that structure their lives.

User-friendly without sacrificing intellectual or theoretical rigor, the Seventh Edition has been thoroughly updated to reflect the current debates and the state of contemporary U.S race relations.