Lori Latrice Martin is associate dean in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and professor in the Department of African and African American Studies at Louisiana State University.

Martin takes inspiration from legal scholar Derrick Bell’s work on racial realism to argue that Black people throughout history have been, in her words, “duped” into believing that the US can fundamentally change, and thus they can alter their position of racial subordination (p. 1). As Martin argues, that position is permanent and the sooner Black people recognize this reality, the more peace and agency they will achieve and the less disappointment they will experience. They can subsequently channel their energy in more productive ways, such as into exposing the US's symbolic, rather than substantive, promises to change to mitigate embarrassment on the world stage. Underscoring the permanence of African Americans’ subordinate status, Martin cites studies that document racial disparities—both past and present—in education, sports, wealth, and health, including those stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Martin insists that her position is not pessimistic but realistic, albeit largely unpopular. Indeed, in her analysis, preeminent civil rights and Black Power activists like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Kwame Ture were wrong about the US, while Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam is right. Recommended. General readers.

• Table of ContentsIntroductionChapter One: The Genius of Derrick Bell: Racial RealismChapter Two: 40 Acres and a Mule and Other Missed OpportunitiesChapter Three: The Myth of the Greatest GenerationChapter Four: (Un) Civil Rights and Black PowerChapter Five: Promises Unfulfilled: Black Lives Matter ChatterConclusionReferences

Lori Latrice Martin is associate dean in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and professor in the Department of African and African American Studies at Louisiana State University.

Martin takes inspiration from legal scholar Derrick Bell’s work on racial realism to argue that Black people throughout history have been, in her words, “duped” into believing that the US can fundamentally change, and thus they can alter their position of racial subordination (p. 1). As Martin argues, that position is permanent and the sooner Black people recognize this reality, the more peace and agency they will achieve and the less disappointment they will experience. They can subsequently channel their energy in more productive ways, such as into exposing the US's symbolic, rather than substantive, promises to change to mitigate embarrassment on the world stage. Underscoring the permanence of African Americans’ subordinate status, Martin cites studies that document racial disparities—both past and present—in education, sports, wealth, and health, including those stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Martin insists that her position is not pessimistic but realistic, albeit largely unpopular. Indeed, in her analysis, preeminent civil rights and Black Power activists like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Kwame Ture were wrong about the US, while Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam is right. Recommended. General readers.

• Table of ContentsIntroductionChapter One: The Genius of Derrick Bell: Racial RealismChapter Two: 40 Acres and a Mule and Other Missed OpportunitiesChapter Three: The Myth of the Greatest GenerationChapter Four: (Un) Civil Rights and Black PowerChapter Five: Promises Unfulfilled: Black Lives Matter ChatterConclusionReferences

Lori Latrice Martin is associate dean in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and professor in the Department of African and African American Studies at Louisiana State University.

Martin takes inspiration from legal scholar Derrick Bell’s work on racial realism to argue that Black people throughout history have been, in her words, “duped” into believing that the US can fundamentally change, and thus they can alter their position of racial subordination (p. 1). As Martin argues, that position is permanent and the sooner Black people recognize this reality, the more peace and agency they will achieve and the less disappointment they will experience. They can subsequently channel their energy in more productive ways, such as into exposing the US's symbolic, rather than substantive, promises to change to mitigate embarrassment on the world stage. Underscoring the permanence of African Americans’ subordinate status, Martin cites studies that document racial disparities—both past and present—in education, sports, wealth, and health, including those stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Martin insists that her position is not pessimistic but realistic, albeit largely unpopular. Indeed, in her analysis, preeminent civil rights and Black Power activists like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Kwame Ture were wrong about the US, while Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam is right. Recommended. General readers.

• Table of ContentsIntroductionChapter One: The Genius of Derrick Bell: Racial RealismChapter Two: 40 Acres and a Mule and Other Missed OpportunitiesChapter Three: The Myth of the Greatest GenerationChapter Four: (Un) Civil Rights and Black PowerChapter Five: Promises Unfulfilled: Black Lives Matter ChatterConclusionReferences