Race relations in twenty-first-century America will not be just a black-and-white issue. The 2000 census revealed that Hispanics already slightly outnumber African Americans as the largest ethnic group, while together Blacks and Hispanics constitute the majority population in the five largest U.S. cities. Given these facts, black-brown relations could be a more significant racial issue in the decades to come than relations between minority groups and Whites.

Offering some of the first in-depth analyses of how African Americans and Hispanics perceive and interact with each other, this pathfinding study looks at black-brown relations in Houston, Texas, one of the largest U.S. cities with a majority ethnic population and one in which Hispanics outnumber African Americans. Drawing on the results of several sociological studies, the authors focus on four key issues: how each group forms and maintains stereotypes of the other, areas in which the two groups conflict and disagree, the crucial role of women in shaping their communities' racial attitudes, and areas in which Hispanics and African Americans agree and can cooperate to achieve greater political power and social justice.

"Chicana Leadership: The "Frontiers" Reader" breaks the stereotypes of Mexican American women and shows how these women shape their lives and communities. This collection looks beyond the frequently held perception of Chicanas as passive and submissive and instead examines their roles as dynamic community leaders, activists, and scholars.

"Chicana Leadership" features fifteen essays from the notable women's journal Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies that demonstrate the strength and diversity of Chicanas as well as their continuing struggle to have their voices heard. Noted scholars discuss issues ranging from the feminist prototype La Malinche to Chicana writers and national ideology, from gender and identity to ideas of culture and romance, and from tokenism to the diversity within the Chicana community. The essays provide an introduction to an evolving understanding of this diverse community of women and how they interact among themselves, with their community, and with the world around them.