ABSTRACT
Something very strange is happening in the racial crisis in the United States. On the one hand, the concrete situation of Negro Americans is changing rapidly for the better. This is not only true when people look at economic measures of all kinds, but it is also true that things are better when they look at measures of political participation and power. But on the other hand, the political attitudes of Negroes have become more extreme and more desperate. The riots are called "rebellions", and hardly any Negro leader today bothers to deplore them. A rapid rate of social change has improved the condition of Negro Americans and has gone some way to closing gaps between the condition of Negro and white Americans, but it has not only not moderated the rise of extremism and violence—it has been accompanied by it.
