Peniel E. Joseph - The Third Reconstruction

Peniel E. Joseph is one of the most brilliant and gifted historians in the nation today. With a deft pen and a lucid eye, he limns the outlines of a new struggle for radical equality that has risen from the ashes of two noble but failed efforts in previous eras to make justice sing. The Third Reconstruction is a soulful love song to the epic struggles of chastened but hopeful citizens to pursue yet again their long-delayed arrival to the shores of real freedom and true democracy.

Michael Eric Dyson, author of the New York Times bestseller Tears We Cannot Stop

In this searching, often searing, account of our recent past and of our still-unfolding present, Joseph writes in the tradition of Du Bois and of Baldwin as he seeks to delineate how tragedy might give way to true justice. Personal and political, human and historical, Josephs book is urgent, important, and illuminating.

Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prizewinning historian

In The Third Reconstruction , renowned historian Joseph expertly draws on his remarkable breadth of knowledge to tell a powerful and interwoven story about three watershed moments in American history. Brilliantly written and elegantly argued, this book is a gift to all Americans. It offers an honest and compelling account of how change happens, and it forces us all to consider how we might work together to win the fight for racial justice.

Keisha N. Blain, coeditor of the # New York Times bestseller Four Hundred Souls and award-winning author of Until I Am Free

The Third Reconstruction offers a brilliant historical analysis of race relations in twenty-first-century America. Whether he is discussing Barack Obama or Martin Luther King Jr., the Black Power Movement of the Long Sixties or the Black Lives Matter zeitgeist of today, Joseph is superb. He is fierce when it comes to promoting racial equality. The Third Reconstruction is an awesome achievement.

Douglas Brinkley, New York Times bestselling author of Rosa Parks

Anyone genuinely interested in understanding the relationship between Americas racial history and our current political and moral turmoil should read every word of The Third Reconstruction . For while Joseph writes that the clash between reconstruction and redemption is continuing, he also insists that things are afoot that show change is possible, that a new political world is being created, not least with the work of a new generation of Black grassroots organizersespecially Black womenand, yes, their white supporters. The Third Reconstruction is a book that could help us all create that world. As Joseph writes: These dark parts of our past underscore how a nightmare can still be a dream.

Charlayne Hunter-Gault, prizewinning journalist

The Third Reconstruction is a powerful and eloquent analysis of the enduring battle between opponents of multiracial democracy and forces of racial change across American history. Drawing parallels to the period of Redemption after the Civil War, Joseph persuasively situates the white backlash to the presidency of Barack Obamacaptured in the rise of Donald Trump and MAGAwithin the long, but frequently ignored, history of organized white resistance to Black freedom. Part historical investigation and part call to action, The Third R econstruction is a towering achievement that brilliantly meets the moment.

Tomiko Brown-Nagin, author of Civil Rights Queen

The best books I encounter are always those that make me think, feel, and, most of all, dream. This book didnt just weigh heavy on my mind, it crawled its way into my imagination, shaking up my politics, bringing meaning to my story, and ultimately, igniting my commitment to work for a more loving and just world. The Third Reconstruction is not just a must-read, it fills in the gaps in American history and memoir, pulling from the black literary, radical, and religious traditions and thereby becoming what the American jeremiad must be: salvation for the soul of the country and liberation for the heart.

Dant Stewart, author of Shoutin in the Fire

Joseph is one of the most important minds alive today, bar none. His latest book, The Third Reconstruction, is a masterclass on the painful process America must dare to undertake to become a land of true justice and equity. Like the brilliant The Sword and The Shield , The Third Reconstruction combines a delightfully readable narrative with elegant academic insights that leave the reader feeling like they got schooled, without having to go back to school. A marvel, and so necessary.

Van Lathan Jr., author of Fat, Crazy, and Tired

The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.

Stokely: A Life

Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama

Waiting til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America

The Black Power Movement: Rethinking the Civil RightsBlack Power Era

Neighborhood Rebels: Black Power at the Local Level

Copyright 2022 by Peniel E. Joseph

Cover design by Chin-Yee Lai

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Basic Books

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First Edition: September 2022

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Joseph, Peniel E., author.

Title: The third reconstruction : Americas struggle for racial justice in the twenty-first century / Peniel Joseph.

Other titles: Americas struggle for racial justice in the twenty-first century

Description: First edition. | New York : Basic Books, 2022. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2022020255 | ISBN 9781541600744 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781541600768 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: African AmericansSocial conditions21st century. | African AmericansCivil rightsHistory21st century. | United StatesPolitics and government2009-2017. | United StatesPolitics and government2017-2021. | United StatesRace relations. | RacismUnited States. | Racial justiceUnited StatesHistory21st century. | Joseph, Peniel E.

Classification: LCC E185.615 .J678 2022 | DDC 323.1196/073dc23/eng/20220428

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022020255

ISBNs: 9781541600744 (hardcover), 9781541600768 (ebook)

E3-20220707-JV-NF-ORI

For my mother, Germaine Joseph, and all the Black people, especially Black women, who have led efforts to reconstruct America here and around the world