For a half century or more, black people have labored under the spell of what Jesse Lee Peterson calls the “alchemists.” These are the race hustlers, media hacks, politicians, community organizers and the like who promise to “fundamentally transform” America. The transformation they promise, however, produces only fool’s gold―unearned benefits like welfare, food stamps, subsidized housing, payouts from lawsuits, and maybe one day even reparations. Worse, to secure these counterfeit goods, recipients have to sacrifice something of infinite value: the sanctity of the two-parent family. It is a devil’s bargain.