For many, America's annals of race are written in black and white. Certainly United States history since the great civil rights initiatives of the 1950s and 1960s has been framed largely from that point of view. This bipolar perspective, however, is challenged by some critics as inaccurate and inadequate, given the historic presence of other groups in our nation, and their growing numbers on the American landscape. Indeed, many observers believe a more comprehensive view of history and a more equitable shaping of effective public policy will result from a refined concept of race embracing this broader view of the roles of culture and ethnicity.

In a sense, the term race suffers from a lack of meanings, or from too many meanings. For some, race is that distinctive combination of hereditary physical traits by which groups of people are characterized. At the extreme, race becomes a shorthand used to talk about ethnic and even religious identifications. But, whether it is understood in terms of color, ethnicity, or cultural grouping, race is very much a part of the human experience.

Race has played a pivotal, often confrontational role in the history of the United States, and the struggle to achieve racial justice, variously defined, parallels, inexorably, the achievement of the nation's promise and national goals in general. Thus, discussions of race frequently become linked to politics and political issues -- for instance, affirmative action. This term originated during the Kennedy Administration (1961-63). At that time, the U.S. government directed federal contractors to take "positive steps" to ensure that the workforce was racially representative. It has grown to include active legal and social efforts to improve educational and economic opportunities for minorities. Proponents and opponents continue to discuss the desirability of affirmative action policies, and this journal includes President Clinton s thoughts as well as the views of two distinguished commentators.