“Nicolás Vaca has written a brave and path-breaking book. For too long, commentators have ignored important differences between the experiences of blacks and Latinos in the United States, to the detriment of a full understanding of both groups. With grace and scholarly attention to detail, Vaca demonstrates that Latinos’ interests are not always identical to those of blacks. Vaca shows that the presumed alliance between the two groups is less a fact than it is a product of wishful thinking on the part of civil rights activists.” — Linda Chavez, author of Out of the Barrio and An Unlikely Conservative
“The most thorough analysis yet of Black/Latino relations. This is an in-depth look at the shifting sands of ethnic politics.” — Bob Blauner, author of Still the Big News: Racial Oppression and Black Lives, White Lives: Three Decades of Race Relations in America
“The work puts the often conflicted relationship between blacks and Latinos into the context of immigration and the dramatic growth in the Latino population. The topic of black/Latino will certainly become more heated in the years to come as Latinos are now the nation’s largest minority. Vaca’s narrative is provocative and often disturbing. It will no doubt illicit heated responses, which hopefully will lead to a better understanding.” — Rudy Acuña, author of Occupied America: A History of Chicanos and Anything But Mexican: Chicanos in Contemporary Los Angeles
“A frank discussion on the latest taboo subject in the race milieu: the growing tension between Latinos and blacks.” — San Jose Mercury News
“A thought-provoking book.” — New York Post
“A riveting narrative...Vaca’s well-researched book is essential reading for anyone desiring an understanding of the future of ethnographic conflict in the United States.” — Booklist
“A thoughtful political/historical essay on the profound gulf that yawns between America’s most populous minority groups.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Fascinating and complicated...Vaca tears off the rose-colored glasses, bids farewell to political correctness and handles the subject matter with genuine interest and expertise.” — Hartford Courant
“The Presumed Alliance explores [two] conflicting perceptions with refreshing candor. Vaca demythologizes the idealized concept of the “rainbow coalition” and calls on both [Latinos and African-Americans] to reintroduce themselves to each other.” — Clarence Page
"Nicolas C. Vaca, a pioneer of the Chicano movement, has taken on the biggest version of this problem. . . . Vaca gives us the first serious discussion of these divisions and the hanging fears that still accompany them.” — Denver Post
