In Looking Beyond Race, Otis Milton Smith (1922-94) recounts his life as an African American who overcame poverty and prejudice to become a successful politician and the first black elected to a statewide office in the nineteenth century. He went on to become the first black vice president and general counsel of General Motors.

Born in the slums of Memphis, Smith was the illegitimate son of a black domestic worker and her prominent white employer. Although he identified with his mother's blackness, he inherited his father's white complexion. This left him open to racism from whites, who resented his African American heritage, and blacks, who resented his skin color.

Throughout his life, Smith worked with and met many prominent Americans. He knew boxer Joe Louis, future general Daniel "Chappie" James, future Detroit mayor Coleman Young, and the nation's first African American general, B. O. Davis Jr. Through politics he knew Michigan's prominent politicians and was appointed by Governor John Swainson to the Michigan Supreme Court, making him the first black man since reconstruction to sit on any Supreme Court in the nation. Smith also knew nationally known figures such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Estes Kevauver, and presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. Through his civil rights work, he met A. P. Tureaud, Roy Wilkins, and Benjamin Hooks, and he worked closely with Vernon Jordan.

Looking Beyond Race provides a rare glimpse into the inner workings of America's largest corporation, General Motors, at a time when the company expanded its overseas market and faced an unprecedented flood of consumer lawsuits. Smith was an early advocate of the increasedcooperation between business and government that was so necessary for businesses negotiating the complexities of a global economy. In 1983 he retired as general counsel for the corporation, having been the company's first black officer.

This memoir, which Smith dictated during the three years before his death in 1994, is a compelling tale that ends with the inspirational story of Smith's reconciliation with his white relatives who still live in the South. In this highly readable memoir, Looking Beyond Race provides a moving tale that will appeal to readers interested in African American history, politics, labor relations, business and Michigan history.