The 20th anniversary edition begins with a lengthy Prologue which surveys how race relations have changed (or not changed) since the book was first published in 1997. Despite growing racial and ethnic diversity in the American population, segregation persists. The legacy of discriminatory policies and practices in the real estate industry means that residential segregation remains a pervasive issue in the present day. Meanwhile, courts have curtailed school desegregation strategies, meaning that students have returned to attending schools based on where they live. Public schools today are more segregated than they were in 1980.

Beyond the persistence of segregation, there have been several setbacks in the past 20 years. There has been a backlash against affirmative action programs, which has caused the enrolment of Black, Latinx, and American Indian students to plummet at universities. The Great Recession of 2008 has had a disproportionate impact on Black and Latinx families, causing them to lose their homes and jobs at a higher rate than Whites. Families of color have also been torn apart by mass incarceration. Ever since Ronald Reagan declared a “War on Drugs” in the 1980s, Black and Latino men have made up about 90 percent of those imprisoned for drug offenses in many states—despite the majority of illegal drug users and dealers being White.