George M. Fredrickson is Robinson Professor of United States History at Stanford University, and author of several books, including "Black Liberation: A Comparative History of Black Ideologies in the United States and South Africa" (1995), "The Arrogance of Race: Historical Perspectives on Slavery, Racism, and Social Inequality" (1988), The Black Image in the White Mind" (1987), and "White Supremacy: A Comparative Study in American and South African History" (1981). He was president of the Organization for American Historians for 1997-98.