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…

The eight articles of this special issue explore the retrenchment that has seriously constrained the education of African Americans in California, as in much of the nation. Economic downsizing, genetic theories of racial inferiority, and right-wing attitudes have contributed to undermining the political gains of the 1960s and 1970s. (SLD)