"at the dangerous edge of social justice" is a searing indictment of reprehensible - and often -- murderous racism in America -- from Huck Finn and Nigger Jim on the Mississippi, to the murder of Emmett Till in in Mississippi, in 1955, the murder of Medgar Evers in 1963, Malcolm X in 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, James Byrd Jr., in Texas in 1998 and Trayvon Martin in 2012. Other chapters include pioneers who survived the Civil Rights years, such as Rosa Parks.

This is stark, unvarnished history. Highly important for understanding 20th century American culture.