Studies have shown that textbooks have treated the black person as invisible or as a problem and generally have failed to note that bigotry has been a fundamental American attitude since the arrival of Columbus. One might have thought that by 1973 publishing houses would have eliminated the need for this type of criticism, but this is not the case. The Michigan Department of Education has reported on a study of 75 texts used in its secondary schools, and the results are chilling. To insure accuracy and balance the educators selected three reviewers for each text, carefully trying to mix professional historians, classroom teachers, professors of education and district social studies personnel. The reviewers were asked to rate their one or two assigned texts on the basis of accurate presentation of minorities. The two-volume report, constituting the most thorough study of its kind, focused not only on the black role but on that of other minorities, and some reviewers included women in their evaluations. The 46 experts were asked to evaluate the texts on a scale of "Very Good,""Good,""Fair," or "Poor." Of the 75 texts only eight received "Very Good" as a rating, 15 were rated "Good," 31 were rated "Fair," and 21 were rated "Poor." Thirty-one per cent of the ratings were on the positive side; 69 per cent on the negative side. (Author/JM)