Reviews the 1989 report, "A Common Destiny: Blacks and American Society," which examines the anticipated and unanticipated consequences of initiatives since 1940 to improve the Blacks' social position. Criticizes the report for omitting evidence concerning racial differences in intelligence and criminal activity at the individual level. (FMW)

Few books have generated as much controversy as the recently published "The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life." The tremendous polarization on the issue of the relationship between intelligence quotient (IQ) to race and social class, reinforced by the book, and the potential this book has for undermining…

Urges educators and citizens to ignore the hype surrounding "The Bell Curve" and to grasp the ethnocentrism (or racism) that underlies eugenicist arguments. Both Carnoy and Ladson-Billings offer hope to those supporting educational equity and the appreciation of diversity. (SLD)