The Forward of the book Peculiar Affinity...  and endorsed by Professor Cornel West is written by Professor William Chambliss of the George Washington University, a renowned Professor in the sociology of law, and crimes committed by the state. In the book,

Professor Chambliss exclaims,

" Norde's research leads him to three major conclusions. First, the world the slave owners made was unique and perhaps an unprecedented cultural definition of family and kinship.  The slave owners defined the offspring from their female slaves as "little Negroes," and as such they were not seen as the slave owners' children, but were seen instead as commodities to be bought and sold like other commodities... Second, what constitutes a "family" in the slave-owning South was not determined by biology but by cultural definitions... Third, Norde discusses the peculiar affinity that led to the definition of race in terms of skin color.... His research raises important questions about the commodification of human beings during Southern slavery. His work also shines a light on the whole question of what is meant by race and defined by a person's skin color... The fact that White fathers defined their own children as commodities is yet another example of the power of culture to redefine reality."

Professor West Exclaims:

Peculiar Affinity is "ground-breaking" regarding the treatment of Black female slaves during the second slave era of the 19th Century in the United States.