The author examines the lives and values of working class inner-city Black men who gather at a Chicago cafeteria exploding distorted media stereotypes in the process.

pt. One: The Caring Community -- 1. Slim and Bart -- 2. Black Men: Transcending Roles and Images -- pt. Two: The Moral Community -- 3. Valois as a "Black Metropolis" -- 4. The Standard of Respectability -- pt. Three: Membership in Society -- 5. Openness -- 6. The Need for Contact with Society -- 7. A Higher Self -- pt. Four: You're White, He's Black, I'm a Sociologist: Who's Innocent? -- 8. The Underclass and the Middle Class -- 9. The Stereotype of Blacks in Sociology and Journalism -- 10. Conclusion -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Index.