On Racial Integration

The historian Oscar Handlin noted in 1965 that the “attention [of the civil rights movement] has been so narrowly focused on tactical issues that there has been no time to consider ultimate goals.” He warned that “[i]n the absence of defined goals, it is difficult to estimate the character or pace of change or even to judge its direction.” Unfortunately, Handlin’s complaint, now thirty years old, remains relevant. One obvious indication is the confusion that shro...