In this speech, the author examines and traces past and present treatment of minorities in textbooks. The issue of whether textbooks should and do adequately represent the real world of minorities is emphasized. In the past, when publishers either omitted minorities from books or made misleading statements in textbooks about minorities, textbooks did indeed represent the feeling of the real world, reflecting the discriminatory practices and social attitudes of society. Presently the treatment of minority groups in textbooks is undergoing a change toward the new concept of cultural pluralism. Although minorities are being included in textbooks now, there is a need to make sure that these are bias free. Trezise proposes three general criteria to judge the adequacy of textbooks: (1) historical facts must be interpreted fairly and in the light of current historical research, (2) the accomplishments and contributions of minorities in textbooks should be presented realistically, and (3) textbooks should convey that certain values are intrinsically a part of the American system. Textbooks should describe the real world if we accept in educational terms a premise of cultural pluralism and its implications for education. Placing information about minorities in textbooks helps the reader to deal with the total experience of man. Education and textbooks can and should be the agents of cultural change. (Author/JR)