First published 2023
Robert P. Jones examines white supremacy in America by reaching back to 1493 and a church doctrine that justified European conquest. He connects historical violence across centuries, linking Emmett Till to Spanish conquistador Hernando De Soto in Mississippi, three lynched Black circus workers to thirty-eight executed Lakota men in Duluth, and the Tulsa massacre to the Trail of Tears. Jones argues that enslaving Africans continued earlier genocide against Native Americans rather than beginning America's original sin. The fifteenth century Doctrine of Discovery declared all non-Christian lands as promised territory for believers. This religious justification allowed democratic founders to build their philosophical framework atop mass racial violence, creating contradictions that persist in white Christian nationalism today. Jones studies contemporary communities in Mississippi, Minnesota, and Oklahoma to find models for racial repair and chart pathways toward genuine pluralistic democracy.
Genres: history, political-science, non-fiction, african-american-historical-fiction, academic, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-fiction, investigative-journalism, social-commentary
Setting: Mississippi, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Duluth, Tulsa
Period: 1493, 15th Century, 18th Century, 19th Century, 20th Century
375 pages · Kindle Edition · Simon & Schuster
Content warnings: colonialism, racism, slavery