multiracial category on census forms and on college and financial aid appli-
cations, as well as calls for the abolition of all categories. In late 1997 the
Census Bureau responded by allowing Americans to check as many differ-
ent racial categories as they see fit. A growing public acceptance, especially
among younger Americans, of interracial relationships and transracial
adoptions is tangible evidence of profound social change.

Getting Beyond Race does not attempt to underestimate the difficulties
involved in realizing social transformation, but it reframes the problem of
race. The book maintains that Americans will eventually move beyond race
by building on positive events, focusing on universal human virtues, and
looking forward with hope and a sense of common purpose and destiny. It
suggests that America is making steady evolutionary progress toward ren-
dering the social, economic, and political construction of race less meaning-
ful. Racism is in decline, and the very concept of race is becoming increas-
ingly less significant. Demographic and cultural changes, including
immigration and the growth of interracial families, are serving to speed up
the process.

Richard J. Payne

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