A Vol in the Social Policy and Social Theory Series (David Marsland, series editior) investigates the policies & practices of the British Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), an organization issuing from the 1976 Race Relations Act. It is suggested that the CRE has functioned as a kind of race lobby that has produced an inaccurate portrait of the UK as a society riddled with racism. This mischaracterization is traced to provisions in the original 1976 Race Relations Act, which assume that (1) minorities have special needs, (2) these needs must be met according to the statistical makeup of these groups, & (3) the state ought to have the power to enforce statistical equality regardless of other rights involved. Armed with these assumptions, the CRE has proven successful in putting forward its view. In the process, it has exercised its considerable legal powers to curtail the freedoms of association, contract, & speech. This situation is discussed in the context of US race relations. The official British approach to race relations ought to be rethought according to four basic questions: What conceptions of human rights ought to underlie race relations? Should a race relations bureaucracy be developed between the state & society? Should it be assumed that minority groups lack sufficient resources to help themselves? Should the US experience be ignored? An Introduction precedes 13 Chpt with Notes. 61 References. D. Ryfe