The aim of the editor, Philip Fetzer, is to humanize the concept of equality; each of these vividly autobiographical essays gives voice to the writer's first experience of inequality, and the point at which each became committed to the search for equality. In the seven selections in Part I, "Moments", the authors describe critical experiences in their lives that awakened in them a new and deeper understanding of equality. In the remaining five essays in Part II, "From the Beginning", each contributor describes how he or she came to know the meaning of equality at an early age. The majority of these essays have been written exclusively for this volume or appear here for the first time; they have been selected to represent widely diverse backgrounds with regard to ethnicity, gender, occupation, and social/economic class, and convey with dramatic immediacy the themes of human conflict, personal triumph, determination, individual achievement, adversity, love and understanding.

This anthology focuses on the experiences of Americans whose lives have been strongly affected by the pursuit of equality in areas such as politics law, education, and government. Each of these vividly autobiographical essays gives voice to the writer's first personal experience of inequality, and the point at which each became committed to the search for equality.