Survival is better in African Americans on dialysis than in white patients, even though in the general population African Americans have higher mortality and are at higher risk of renal failure. Crews et al. report that differences in inflammation levels might partly explain this paradox. Mortality rates were lower in African Americans, but median C-reactive protein (CRP) level was similar in the two groups. When patients were split into tertiles based on CRP level, however, mortality in the higher tertiles was lower in African Americans than in white patients.