This collection is a thorough treatment of secretive social orders that illumines how these groups' varied understandings of race and ethnicity were marshalled to resist and reproduce, not only their own organizations, but racial and ethnic identity, solidarity, and inequality.

This book was originally published as a special issue of Ethnic and Racial Studies.

Matthew W. Hughey, PhD is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Connecticut, USA.

1. Chasing shadows: from the power elite to a new paradigm Matthew W. Hughey 2. The duality of spectacle and secrecy: a case study of fraternalism in the 1920s US Ku Klux Klan Kathleen Blee and Amy McDowell 3. Ékpè 'leopard' society in Africa and in the Americas: influence and values of an ancient tradition Ivor Miller and Mathew Ojong 4. 'Weak power': community and identity Brian Belton 5. Black, Greek, and read all over: newspaper coverage of African American fraternities and sororities, 1980-2009 Matthew W. Hughey and Marcia Hernandez 6. Fraternity life at predominantly white universities in the US: the saliency of race Rashawn Ray 7. Why some black lodges prospered and others failed: the Good Templars and the True Reformers David M. Fahey 8. Ardent citizens: African American Elks and the fight for equal employment opportunities Venus Green