ABSTRACT
Few matters of contemporary life are more in need of continuous investigation and assessment than the tensions and cleavages that exist between racial and ethnic groupings. America’s oldest minorities, native peoples and the descendents of African slaves, have also made considerable gains in the struggle for full participation, particularly through the results of the civil rights struggles that removed many of the legal barriers. Sociologists share with other scientists the fundamental view that only through the orderly accumulation of empirical evidence and rigorous analysis can the realities of the physical and social world be revealed. Many sociologists have long strived to engage in value-free social science. Increasingly, however, more and more recognize the difficulties of maintaining strict neutrality in the face of behavior felt to be detrimental to the functioning of society or injurious to its members. In examining such phenomena as crime and delinquency, political upheaval, family disorganization, or racial and ethnic relations, they often walk a tightrope.
