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\"What do you think of when you hear about an African American Republican? Are they heroes fighting against the expectation that all blacks must vote democratic? Are they Uncle Toms or sellouts, serving as traitors to their race? What is it really like to be a black person in the Republican Party? Black Elephants in the Room considers how race structures the political behavior of African American Republicans and discusses the dynamic relationship between race and political behavior in the purported 'post-racial' context of US politics. Drawing on vivid first-person accounts, the book sheds light on the different ways black identity structures African Americans' membership in the Republican Party. Moving past rhetoric and politics, we begin to see the everyday people working to reconcile their commitment to black identity with their belief in Republican principles. And at the end, we learn the importance of understanding both the meanings African Americans attach to racial identity and the political contexts in which those meanings are developed and expressed\"--Provided by publisher.

A feeling for the past is also apparent in the work of John Gaw Meem, on whose drawing board much of the University of New Mexico took shape. A stroll through the campus (with spacious brick plazas and buildings reminiscent of colonial Spanish and early 19th-century territorial architecture) leads one to the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology (505-277-4404; open from 9 A.M. to 4 P.M. Monday to Friday and 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. on Saturday; free). This perpetual-motion showcase of the ethno-archeology of the Southwest and Central America is offering two special exhibits through March 15: ''From the Weavers' View'' (Indian basketry) and ''Anasazi World'' (a look at the region's oldest city dwellers, the ancestors of today's Pueblo Indians). Another Albuquerque architect, Antoine Predock, attracted national attention with La Luz, a condominium complex that hugs the western bank of the Rio Grande a few miles north of I-40. Mindful of old Albuquerque, Mr. Predock also did the Albuquerque Museum, 2000 Mountain Road N.W., at the eastern edge of Old Town (505-766-7878; 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. Tuesday to Friday, 1 to 5 P.M. on Saturday and Sunday; $2, $1 for those aged 3 to 11 and over 65). You can walk from the Old Town Plaza with its delicate white gazebo, pass in front of the graceful facade of Albuquerque's landmark church, San Felipe de Neri, scoot through cottonwoods nearby and when the quite different lines of the museum come into view, you find that nothing jars the eye. ''An Albuquerque Retrospective,'' containing 250 artifacts that didn't find their way into the permanent exhibit, are on display this month. Landmarks At last count, Albuquerque had 84 sites on the National Register of Historic Places. Notable among them: the former Indian School, across 12th Street from the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center; the Robert Nordhaus Home at 6900 Rio Grande Boulevard N.W., the Ki-Mo Theater at 419 Central Avenue N.W. and the old Hilton Hotel, 125 Second Street N.W. Combined with the work of the new designers, this preservation effort has brought about an interesting mix of styles: adode, territorial, turn-of-the-century Victorian and Pueblo Deco (the Ki-Mo Theater, for example). Entertainment Dining and live drama are offered at the Wool Warehouse Theater-Restaurant, First Street and Roma Avenue N.W. (505-242-5800). Once a storehouse for fleece from Navajo flocks, the building now has tiers of tables that step up from a stage on the former drying floor. Theatergoers dine by candlelight before the curtain rises, as it will on Jan. 22 on Peter Shaffer's ''Amadeus.'' Prices for dinner and play range from $19.95 to $21.95 depending on the day. Tickets for the play alone are $10 to $12. Another theater, the Vortex, 2004 Central Avenue S.E. (505-247-8600) will offer weekend performances of Tennessee Williams's ''Glass Menagerie'' from Jan. 10 to Feb. 2. (Fridays and Saturdays at 8 P.M., Sundays at 6 P.M.; $5, students and seniors $4). Where to Stay There is still some of the roar of the 20's at La Posada de Albuquerque, the restored former Hilton at 125 Second Street N.W. (505-242-9090), where Zsa-Zsa Gabor and Conrad Hilton honeymooned. These days rooms begin at $82 for two. The lobby serves as a grand cocktail lounge in a quiet version of Pueblo Deco, rich dark woods blending with earth-tone walls, the whole surmounted by a railed balcony on three sides of the huge room.

With the closing of the New Mexico State Fair in September, Albuquerque's brief, annual recollection of its Old West attachment (more or less forgotten since the city became part of the ''Sun Belt'') has ended; the Stetsons and the Tony Lama boots have been stuffed in the closet for another year, and the calf ropers, barrel racers and bronc riders have ''gone on down the road.'' October's International Balloon Fiesta (there were 430 entrants this year in the biggest- ever display of the rising, drifting beauties) is a thing of the past, too. Albuquerque is ready to settle into that special semisomnolence in which it becomes more quietly Indian and Spanish than any other Southwestern metropolis - at least so Albuquerqueans confidently believe. Even the mild hustle and bustle of the holiday season has a particularly Latino and Native American atmosphere in the 375-year-old Duke City and environs. Back in Albuquerque, a thirst for knowledge about Indian life and history can be slaked at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (2401 12th St. N.W.; 505-843-7270) open in December every day except Christmas from 9:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M., Sunday 11 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. A restaurant is open for breakfast from 8:30 to 11 A.M. Lunch, which is served from 11 A.M. to 3 P.M., features authentic Indian food such as Tiwa tacos (Indian fry bread smothered with frijoles and topped with red or green chilies - $2.95) or Pueblo fried burritos (a lively mixture of ground beef or pork, cheese and onions deep-fried in fry bread batter - $2.95); both entrees are fairly piquant. For a mild dessert, try Indian bread pudding (45 cents a portion). Craft products are for sale at the center; this December's main offering is a dazzling selection of nacimientos (Nativity figures and scenes). Sale of these items begins with a show, also featuring the art of Robert Montoya, Dec. 3, from 3 to 5 P.M. The happiest event on the center's December calendar is the Pueblo Indian Children's Party on Dec. 17 at 12:30 P.M. There will be refreshments, Indian songs and dances, and it is open to the public. Admission to the center is $1.50 for adults ($1 for older people and 75 cents for students and children. Celebrations For those who used to get their ''kicks on Route 66,'' when Albuquerque was the same 15 miles long it is today but only one street wide, and when the only lodgings in sight were ''tourist cabins,'' it will come as a shock to discover a clutch of sumptuous high-rise hotels as well as the usual chain motels. When Fred Harvey's splendid old Alvarado was torn down some years back, it left wounds not only in the hearts of Albuquerqueans but also in the hearts of Southwestern fans everywhere. Fine as the modern establishments are, it remains to be seen whether they can help to heal the wounds.