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.