Race obsession will not lead any multicultural society forward; progress calls for a shift from color to culture—understanding cultural differences.
The End of America’s Obsession with Race presents culture—a scientific, non-volatile context that enables a discussion of America’s real differences; it shows Americans how to live and work together harmoniously in a multicultural society. Race was an appropriate emphasis for America when the Black/White racial issue divided the nation and defined the inequities of American society. In that period the race paradigm served the nation well, but not today. America’s challenge today is not race; it is an unprecedented multicultural society. The contemporary challenge is not just for Black and White Americans, but for every ethnic group to understand cultural differences. No one can afford to be “culture blind” today. Americans must make the paradigm shift from “color to culture.” Barack Obama’s election to the presidency may well have marked the end of America’s obsession with race. He was right on the mark when he identified himself as “post-racial.”