The American Untouchables: America & the Racial Contract

"Ambitious in scope, this book argues that African Americans in the United States have always been, and will continue to be, unwilling participants at the bottom of a caste system that is self-perpetuated by the institutions of politics and economics. The book covers much historical ground, from the founding of this country to the Obama presidency, and the underlying finding is that race matters – and will always matter in the lives of all Americans. Dr. Smith’s chronology provides a convincing case that American society differs little from the feudal or caste systems in other countries."

Prof. Brady Baybeck,

Department of Political Science, Wayne State University