Addressing the role of gender and sexuality in the anti-racist politics of black Americans, these essays deal with topics such as the legal construction of black male identity, domestic abuse in black families, the power of black machismo, and the politics of black male/white female relationships.

In 1995 the Million Man March drew large numbers of black men to the US capital in a display of racial solidarity. Yet, while generating a sense of community and common purpose, the march excluded women and implicitly rejected homosexuals, thereby drawing attention to the role of gender and sexuality in anti-racist agenda. Addressing this issue, these essays deal with topics such as the legal construction of black male identity, domestic abuse in black families, the power of black machismo, the politics of black male/white female relationships, racial essentialism, the role of black men in black women's quest for racial equality, and the heterosexist nature of black political engagement.