Introduction: no turning back
I. African Americans and the new racism
Why black sexual politics?
The past is ever present: recognizing the new racism
Prisons for our bodies, closets for our minds: racism, heterosexism, and black sexuality
II. Rethinking black gender ideology
Get your freak on: sex, babies, and images of black femininity
Booty call: sex, violence, and images of black masculinity
Very necessary: redefining black gender ideology
III. Toward a progressive black sexual politics
Assume the position: the changing contours of sexual violence
No storybook romance: how race and gender matter
Why we can't wait: black sexual politics and the challenge of HIV/AIDS
Afterword: the power of a free mind.