Ranging from chattel slavery, through the New Deal to the Covid pandemic, a groundbreaking work of American history that investigates how pivotal decisions have established and perpetuated systemic racism and discriminatory practices, even as the rise of disinformation and other modern advertising techniques have plunged democracy into an ever-deepening crisis.

Throughout our nation’s history, numerous racialized decisions have solidified the fates of generations of citizens of color, creating a long and troubling history of racial inequality. Some of the earliest involved race-based slavery, the removal of Indigenous peoples from their lands, and the exclusion of most Asians. More have proliferated over time. While America grew into a superpower in the twentieth century, it continued to discriminate against people of color—both soldiers who served overseas and civilians on the home front, herding Japanese Americans into internment camps during World War II and denying Black citizens their right to vote.

American Politicians have waxed eloquently and endlessly about bettering the nation. But bettering it for whom? journalist and cultural commentator Ellis Cose asks. From Reconstruction to the New Deal to the unceasing fight for civil rights, Cose reveals how the hopes of many Americans for a true multicultural democracy and social justice have been repeatedly frustrated by white nationalists skilled at weaponizing racial anxieties of other whites.

In Race and Reckoning, a vital work of African American history, Cose dissects chapter-by-chapter how America’s overall narrative breeds racial resentment rooted in conjecture over fact. Through rigorous research and with astute detail, Cose uncovers how, at countless points in history, America’s leaders have upheld a narrative of American greatness rooted in racism, as he offers a hopeful yet clear-eyed vision of American possibility.

It is a story grounded in history, and it demolishes the myths that ultimately allowed one of the most ill-prepared, unethical, vindictive, and truth-challenged politicians in history to position himself as America’s savior by tapping into the nation’s darkest tendencies and deepening its political polarization.

A "pointed rebuke of American exceptionalism," was Publishers Weekly's description of Race and Reckoning.

Whereas many politicians argue for ignoring or rewriting unflattering history, this is a passionate and incisive argument for accepting—and learning from—historical truth and rejecting ignorance disguised as patriotism. An important work "that merits a place on ethnic studies—and American history—curricula," observed Kirkus.

This unflinching examination of the American past reveals the direct lines between historical choices and present-day crises:

Reconstruction and Its Aftermath: Explore how the promise of a multicultural democracy after the Civil War was deliberately frustrated, setting the stage for generations of conflict.
Voter Suppression: Trace the long history of laws and tactics designed to deny citizens of color their constitutional right to vote, from post-Reconstruction to the present day.
A Rebuke of American Exceptionalism: Challenge the myth of American greatness by examining the pivotal moments where the nation chose to uphold a narrative rooted in racism rather than equality.
The Politics of Resentment: Analyze how racial anxieties have been weaponized throughout history, creating the disinformation and division that allowed a truth-challenged politician to rise to power.