This book is designed to give readers enough information to question the depictions of blacks that have become standard in newspapers and television and radio news. Chapter-by-chapter, it provides facts about the African-American community that often run counter to prevailing ideas. Americans of different races still tend not to live together or socialize together, and what they know about one another is often passed through the filter of the media, which tend to focus on the extremes of our culture. The book is divided into the following parts: (1) Round One: Nature v. Nurture; (2) The Education of Black America; (3) Money and Power; and (4) The Structures of Society. The section on education emphasizes that high school graduation rates for African Americans have risen sharply in the past two decades, and that while 16 percent of students are black, only about 8 percent of teachers are African American. Several urban initiatives to improve education are discussed. Each chapter contains references. (SLD)