Book excerpt: This book presents a review and synthesis of research on communication patterns between blacks and whites in the United States, developing the overall theme that race relations remain difficult due to continuing racial discrimination and a lack of extensive interracial contact. The election of Barack Obama as president, however, reveals some important shifts that may be occurring in contemporary society. Almost unimaginable only a few years ago, the election of an African American to the highest office may signal that communication about race and race-related issues is becoming less problematic in current race relations. This book concludes that multiculturalism and interracial contact offer the most viable approaches to understanding and improving interracial communication. The book is geared toward scholars and students and is relevant for classroom adoption in courses ranging from interracial communication to intercultural communication.