Book excerpt: Cities, Mayors, and Race Relations analyzes the politics behind improving race relations in local communities through the use of mayoral task forces. By investigating three communities with unique cultural, social, economic, and racial characteristics, author Richard T. Middleton IV provides insight into why some communities are more likely to realize success in influencing policy makers to adopt policy innovations aimed at improving race relations than are others. This book chronicles how political culture, level of racial threat, factors central to task force formation, and staffing affect the likelihood that mayoral leadership and use of government organized nongovernmental organizations will persuade local level actors to adopt policies aimed at improving race relations. To study this phenomenon, Cities, Mayors, and Race Relations focuses on three cities: Madison, Wisconsin, Columbia, Missouri, and Kansas City, Missouri.