Prologue: a magnificent detour -- Introduction: post-racial? -- Bread crumbs -- How it grew -- "I wish he was a girl" -- Coins in the couch -- Memory wars -- How do you define racism? -- "Black babies cost less to adopt" -- "Start with kids and mix well" -- The patterns themselves tell a story -- So, you want to talk about lynching? -- Color me surprised -- America: a freight train of a word -- Epilogue.