Are We Not Men?

Harper's new book explores how various kinds of social difference are negotiated in a number of African-American cultural contexts. Some of his examples originate within the African-American community iteself, but the emphasis of his work is on the effect of the mass media in the larger culture. Harper's examination includes the treatment of anchorman Max Robinson's AIDS-related death; homophobia and chauvinism in the black music industry, television and literature.