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Acknowledgments As with any project of this size, there are numerous people to thank and to whom I owe a great deal of gratitude—in an effort not to exclude any col- leagues, friends, and family members, I say thank you to all and do not include individual names. I first got the idea for this book after a conversation I had with a colleague about race and the implications of changing demo- graphics. My colleague and I would have in-depth conversations about race, religion, and anything politics. We would stop by each other’s offices and would always have engaging conversations that left me with more questions and pondering the current political climate. I was introduced to literature on race that I was unfamiliar with, which started me down the political rhetoric path. I would like to thank my many colleagues for their guidance and patience as I asked a thousand questions about a topic that was not in my core area of research. As always, my colleagues were good listeners and willing to lend their guidance for that I say thank you. As such, I would like to thank all of my other colleagues and friends who read iterations of this book and provided their feedback. You have all been a wonderful source to lean on when I questioned the enormity of this project. I especially would like to thank my husband who has been patient and understanding as I worked on this project. My husband has never com- plained about my long hours at the computer or the fact that even when we traveled I would still mange to find time to “plug in” and work. I am grateful and forever indebted for his support and understanding. I would also like to thank Jessica Gribble with Praeger, ABC-CLIO, for her patience and guid- ance I also thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions.