I second that affirmation: this is an educative work, and quite the eye-opener. As a southerner baby boomer, I was vaguely aware of some of these subtler racist mechanisms.

A few years ago, I began research for my novel, King of Soul, about what had happened to our nation during the Vietnam War.

What I discovered was: the antiwar movement was quite disorganized until . . . freedom summer 1964, when starry-eyed college kids gravitated from their academic chores to the Deep South: the kids got a reality check: they saw what was going on down south, and they learned to organize.

The historical oppression of black people has been--read 'em and weep--the primer education for social change in the modern USA.

Ben, keep up this good work. Lincoln, I testify to the power of your learned comment.