Capital and Race: The History of a Modern Hydra
by Sylvie Laurent
Polity 2026
[Publication date: June 16, 2026]
by Sylvie Laurent
Polity 2026
[Publication date: June 16, 2026]
1492: a year that captivated the world. Columbus's "discovery" of a new continent is widely remembered for revealing both the wonders of the earth and the unprecedented capacity of men to free themselves from boundaries. But the invention of America was actually a story untold: the consecration of a new relationship between nature and mankind, which saw capital and race unite irrevocably.
Sylvie Laurent tells the story of racial capitalism as a "two-headed creature" forged by figures such as Daniel Defoe in Robinson Crusoe, Voltaire, Adam Smith, and Alexis de Tocqueville. Beneath these authors' fantasies of a free-market land of endless riches is the empire of racial capitalism. However powerful, this system has been identified and resisted by a long line of anti-colonial theorists, from Rosa Luxemburg to W. E. B. Du Bois. Against the backdrop of their thinking, and at a time when it is commonplace to oppose class struggles and racial demands, Laurent illuminates the rich and little-known intellectual tradition of overcoming the divide. It's about time, she argues, that Karl Marx and Martin Luther King Jr. get to talk to one another.
Capital and Race: The History of a Modern Hydra is a timely and gripping intellectual history that will be of interest to historians and general readers alike.
Sylvie Laurent tells the story of racial capitalism as a "two-headed creature" forged by figures such as Daniel Defoe in Robinson Crusoe, Voltaire, Adam Smith, and Alexis de Tocqueville. Beneath these authors' fantasies of a free-market land of endless riches is the empire of racial capitalism. However powerful, this system has been identified and resisted by a long line of anti-colonial theorists, from Rosa Luxemburg to W. E. B. Du Bois. Against the backdrop of their thinking, and at a time when it is commonplace to oppose class struggles and racial demands, Laurent illuminates the rich and little-known intellectual tradition of overcoming the divide. It's about time, she argues, that Karl Marx and Martin Luther King Jr. get to talk to one another.
Capital and Race: The History of a Modern Hydra is a timely and gripping intellectual history that will be of interest to historians and general readers alike.
REVIEWS:
"One of the most important books ever written on racial capitalism. A wonderful book. A must read."
--Thomas Piketty
"Clarity and ambition rarely come together so seamlessly. Sylvia Laurent delivers a sweeping history of the last five centuries that will be compelling for both experts and newcomers."
Quinn Slobodian, Boston University
"An invaluable text. Laurent deftly shows that the construction of race and racism was always a political and economic project that served two interrelated purposes: the justification of oppression and dispossession, on the one hand, and control over the labor and produce of the oppressed, on the other."
--Bill Fletcher Jr, The Nation
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Sylvie Laurent is a cultural historian and a lecturer in American Studies at Sciences Po, Paris. She was previously a Fulbright Fellow at Harvard University, where she was later also a fellow in the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute. Laurent's publications include Homérique Amérique (2008), Martin Luther King: Une biographie intellectuelle et politique (2015), La couleur du marché: Racisme et néolibéralisme aux États-Uni (2016), King and the Other America: The Poor People's Campaign and the Quest for Economic Equality (2019), and La Contre-révolution californienne (2025).
Sylvie Laurent is a cultural historian and a lecturer in American Studies at Sciences Po, Paris. She was previously a Fulbright Fellow at Harvard University, where she was later also a fellow in the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute. Laurent's publications include Homérique Amérique (2008), Martin Luther King: Une biographie intellectuelle et politique (2015), La couleur du marché: Racisme et néolibéralisme aux États-Uni (2016), King and the Other America: The Poor People's Campaign and the Quest for Economic Equality (2019), and La Contre-révolution californienne (2025).
Slavery, the Slave Trade and the Roots of U.S. Imperialism
by Gerald Horne
International Publishers 2026
[Publication date: August 2026]
In 1875 Confederate military officers from Dixie were recruited by Egypt to lead an invasion of Ethiopia, which could have led to an expansion of the slave trade.
So begins this riveting history by Gerald Horne.
U.S. imperialism has diverse roots, Indigenous dispossession and enslavement (predominantly) of West Africans not least. Yet, after the Civil War, numerous U.S. nationals decamped to Africa to resume enslavement—including the buying of Africans—often in league with Cairo. Enslavement of Africans in West Asia (the “Middle East”) actually predated the trans-Atlantic versions. Similarly, when massive petroleum deposits were discovered in today’s Iraq and Iran at the beginning of the 20th century, a budding U.S. imperialism was poised to benefit given its pre-existing role in the region.
Horne’s story begins in the late 18th century with Euro-Americans being held captive by Algiers in particular. Pre-existing anti-Semitism was boosted when the allegation was made that this North African regime was backed by Jewish elites. Of course, Islamophobia was also prevalent in that Algerian rulers were predominantly Muslims. Anti-Christianity and the roots of Zionism also figure into this story, as does religious zeal of various sorts.
Fortunately, the growing abolitionist movement flexed its muscles; this potent force was aided immeasurably by Russia—a European power whose nationals were subjected to enslavement by Ottoman Turkey—which executed slave traders at a time when these evildoers were being coddled in Washington.
Similarly, a major reason that Ethiopia was able to vanquish repetitive invasions was because of military aid from Russia. This aid increased after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, which also led to anti-colonial Africans finding succor in Addis Ababa—today’s home of the African Union.
This book is essential reading for those seeking to understand and subdue imperialism today.
So begins this riveting history by Gerald Horne.
U.S. imperialism has diverse roots, Indigenous dispossession and enslavement (predominantly) of West Africans not least. Yet, after the Civil War, numerous U.S. nationals decamped to Africa to resume enslavement—including the buying of Africans—often in league with Cairo. Enslavement of Africans in West Asia (the “Middle East”) actually predated the trans-Atlantic versions. Similarly, when massive petroleum deposits were discovered in today’s Iraq and Iran at the beginning of the 20th century, a budding U.S. imperialism was poised to benefit given its pre-existing role in the region.
Horne’s story begins in the late 18th century with Euro-Americans being held captive by Algiers in particular. Pre-existing anti-Semitism was boosted when the allegation was made that this North African regime was backed by Jewish elites. Of course, Islamophobia was also prevalent in that Algerian rulers were predominantly Muslims. Anti-Christianity and the roots of Zionism also figure into this story, as does religious zeal of various sorts.
Fortunately, the growing abolitionist movement flexed its muscles; this potent force was aided immeasurably by Russia—a European power whose nationals were subjected to enslavement by Ottoman Turkey—which executed slave traders at a time when these evildoers were being coddled in Washington.
Similarly, a major reason that Ethiopia was able to vanquish repetitive invasions was because of military aid from Russia. This aid increased after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, which also led to anti-colonial Africans finding succor in Addis Ababa—today’s home of the African Union.
This book is essential reading for those seeking to understand and subdue imperialism today.
Gerald Horne is the Moores Professor of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston, His scholarly research has addressed issues of racism in a variety of social and historical contexts involving labor, politics, civil rights, international relations and war. He has also written extensively about the film industry. Dr. Horne received his M.A. Phil. from Columbia University, Ph.D. in history from Columbia University and his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley and his B.A. from Princeton University. A critically acclaimed scholar and writer Dr Horne has written over 40 books and hundreds of essays and articles for a wide variety of magazines, newspapers, anthologies, and journals in not only the United States but Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Carribean, and Africa.
A Selected Bibliography of books by Dr. Gerald Horne:
Black and Red: W.E.B. Du Bois and the Afro-American response to the Cold War. SUNY Press (1986)
Black Liberation/Red Scare: Ben Davis and the Communist Party. University of Delaware Press (1994)
Fire This Time: The Watts Uprising And The 1960s. Da Capo Press (1997)
From the Barrel of a Gun: The United States and the War against Zimbabwe, 1965-1980. University of North Carolina Press (2000)
Class Struggle in Hollywood, 1930-1950 : Moguls, Mobsters, Stars, Reds and Trade Unionists. University of Texas Press (2001)
Race Woman: The Lives of Shirley Graham Du Bois. NYU Press (2002)
Black and Brown: African Americans and the Mexican Revolution, 1910-1920. NYU Press (2005)
Race War!: White Supremacy and the Japanese Attack on the British Empire. NYU Press (2005)
The Final Victim of the Blacklist: John Howard Lawson, Dean of the Hollywood Ten. University of California Press (2006)
The White Pacific: U.S. Imperialism and Black Slavery in the South Seas After the Civil War. University of Hawaii Press (2007)
The Deepest South: The United States, Brazil, and the African Slave Trade. NYU Press (2007)
Blows Against the Empire: U.S. Imperialism in Crisis. International Publishers (2008)
Red Seas: Ferdinand Smith and Radical Black Sailors in the United States and Jamaica. NYU Press (2009)
Mau Mau in Harlem?: The U.S. and the Liberation of Kenya. Palgrave MacMillan (2009)
The Color of Fascism: Lawrence Dennis, Racial Passing, and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism in the United States. NYU Press (2009)
W.E.B. Du Bois: A Biography. Greenwood (2009)
The End of Empires: African Americans and India. Temple University Press (2009)
Negro Comrades of the Crown: African Americans and the British Empire Fight the U.S. Before Emancipation. NYU Press (2013)
Black Revolutionary: William Patterson & the Globalization of the African American Freedom Struggle. University of Illinois Press (2013)
The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America. NYU Press (2014)
Race to Revolution: The U.S. and Cuba during Slavery and Jim Crow. Monthly Review Press (2014)
Confronting Black Jacobins: The U.S., the Haitian Revolution and the Origins of the Dominican Republic. Monthly Review Press (2015)
Paul Robeson: The Artist as Revolutionary. Pluto Press (2016)
The Rise and Fall of the Associated Negro Press: Claude Albert Barnett's Pan-African News and the Jim Crow Paradox. University of Illinois Press (2017)
Storming the Heavens: African Americans and the Early Struggle for the Right to Fly. Black Classic Press (2017)
Facing the Rising Sun: African Americans, Japan the Rise of Afro-Asian Solidarity. NYU Press (2018)
The Apocalypse of Settler Colonialism: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy and Capitalism in Seventeenth Century North America and the Caribbean. Monthly Review Press (2018)
Jazz and Justice: Racism and the Political Economy of the Music. Monthly Review Press (2019)
White Supremacy Confronted: U.S. Imperialism and Anti-Communism vs. the Liberation of Southern Africa from Rhodes to Mandela. International Publishers (2019)
The Dawning of the Apocalypse: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, Settler Colonialism, and Capitalism in the Long Sixteenth Century. Monthly Review Press (2020)
Sweet Science: Racism, Racketeering, and the Political Economy of Boxing. International Publishers (2020)
Cold War in a Hot Zone: The United States Confronts Labor and Independence Struggles in the British West Indies (2007)
Black and Red: W.E.B. Du Bois and the Afro-American Response to the Cold War. SUNY Press (1986)
Communist Front? The Civil Rights Congress, 1946-1956. Farleigh Dickinson University Press (1987)
Black Liberation/Red Scare: Ben Davis and the Communist Party. University of Delaware Press (1994)
Fire This Time: The Watts Uprising And The 1960s. Da Capo Press (1997)
From the Barrel of a Gun: The United States and the War against Zimbabwe, 1965-1980. University of North Carolina Press (2000)
Class Struggle in Hollywood, 1930-1950 : Moguls, Mobsters, Stars, Reds and Trade Unionists. University of Texas Press (2001)
Race Woman: The Lives of Shirley Graham Du Bois. NYU Press (2002)
Black and Brown: African Americans and the Mexican Revolution, 1910-1920. NYU Press (2005)
Race War!: White Supremacy and the Japanese Attack on the British Empire. NYU Press (2005)
The Final Victim of the Blacklist: John Howard Lawson, Dean of the Hollywood Ten. University of California Press (2006)
The White Pacific: U.S. Imperialism and Black Slavery in the South Seas After the Civil War. University of Hawaii Press (2007)
The Deepest South: The United States, Brazil, and the African Slave Trade. NYU Press (2007)
Blows Against the Empire: U.S. Imperialism in Crisis. International Publishers (2008)
Red Seas: Ferdinand Smith and Radical Black Sailors in the United States and Jamaica. NYU Press (2009)
Mau Mau in Harlem?: The U.S. and the Liberation of Kenya. Palgrave MacMillan (2009)
The Color of Fascism: Lawrence Dennis, Racial Passing, and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism in the United States. NYU Press (2009)
W.E.B. Du Bois: A Biography. Greenwood Press (2009)
The End of Empires: African Americans and India. Temple University Press (2009)
Fighting in Paradise: Labor Unions, Racism, and Communists in the Making of Modern Hawaii. University of Hawaii Press. (2011)
Negro Comrades of the Crown: African Americans and the British Empire Fight the U.S. Before Emancipation. NYU Press. (2013)
Black Revolutionary: William Patterson & the Globalization of the African American Freedom Struggle. University of Illinois Press (2013)
The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America. NYU Press (2014)
Race to Revolution: The U.S. and Cuba during Slavery and Jim Crow. Monthly Review Press (2014)
Confronting Black Jacobins: The U.S., the Haitian Revolution and the Origins of the Dominican Republic (2015)
Paul Robeson: The Artist as Revolutionary (2016)
The Rise and Fall of the Associated Negro Press: Claude Barnett's Pan-African News and the Jim Crow Paradox 2017)
Storming the Heavens: African Americans and the Early Struggle for the Right to Fly (2017)
Facing the Rising Sun: African Americans, Japan the Rise of Afro-Asian Solidarity (2018)
The Apocalypse of Settler Colonialism: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy and Capitalism in Seventeenth Century North America and the Caribbean (2018)
Armed Struggle: Panthers and Communists, Black Nationalists and Liberals in southern California, Through the Sixties and Seventies (2025)
The Cruelty of Nice Folks: Why Minneapolis Is the Story of America
by Justin Ellis
Harper 2026
[Publication date: June 16, 2026]
“In writing a book about Minneapolis, Justin Ellis has really written a book about America's favorite lie—that good intentions lead to justice. Ellis is a rigorous historian and a visceral storyteller, and he has produced something essential: a reckoning with a city that wanted to be a safe haven for all and built a foundation that made this impossible.” –Aaron Robertson, author of The Black Utopians
A Boston Globe Best Book of Summer 2026
One of The Millions’ Most Anticipated Spring 2026 Books
A revelatory look at one of America’s most progressive cities—Minneapolis—as journalist Justin Ellis returns to his hometown to grapple with the quiet history of white supremacy in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, uncover his family’s story of surviving “Minnesota nice,” and revisit the city years later as state violence again forces the question of what a real reckoning looks like.
It’s the “North,” they like to say, not the Midwest. It’s different. Minneapolis is a city for everyone. But in 2020, George Floyd’s murder by the city’s police left many Americans stunned and wondering, “How could this happen in Minneapolis?” To Ellis, the real question is: What made people think it couldn’t?
The Minneapolis Justin Ellis grew up in is not the idealistic metropolis it claims to be. The “City of Lakes” was built on discrimination— in its housing, its schools, its politics—much like all other American cities. Black families were systematically cut out of the prosperous neighborhoods, lush parks, and pristine lakes that make Minneapolis a haven of the heartland. Because of its image as a liberal ally in the fight for civil rights, Minneapolis has rarely been forced to confront this fact. But when George Floyd's murder sparks a global protest movement with the city as ground zero, its residents must finally ask what being a good neighbor actually means.
In a powerful new epilogue, Ellis turns his gaze back to Minneapolis as the sweeping federal immigration operation once again thrusts the city into national headlines. If George Floyd’s murder forced Minneapolis to confront questions of policing, power, and responsibility, the events of 2026 ask what those years of reckoning ultimately changed. Where fear once threatened to overwhelm the city’s response to state violence, Ellis finds a community newly practiced in dissent and collective action. The crisis reveals a Minneapolis still wrestling with its identity, but also one transformed by experience—no longer shocked into awakening, but shaped by it.
The Cruelty of Nice Folks stands to be a record of a moment in time as well as a definitive portrait of America, documenting:
The Myth of Post-Racial America: Reveals how the promises of the George Floyd reckoning faded, exposing a nation still shaped by deep inequality
The Hidden Cost of “Nice” Liberalism: Shows how progressive spaces can avoid real change, allowing injustice to persist beneath a veneer of goodwill
Minneapolis as America in Microcosm: Uses one “model” city to uncover the deeper roots of segregation, policing failures, and systemic racism
A Personal Story with National Stakes: Blends memoir and reporting to explore what it means to be Black in a place that sees itself as fair and just
REVIEWS:
“In writing a book about Minneapolis, Justin Ellis has really written a book about America's favorite lie—that good intentions lead to justice. Ellis is a rigorous historian and a visceral storyteller, and he has produced something essential: a reckoning with a city that wanted to be a safe haven for all and built a foundation that made this impossible.” –Aaron Robertson, author of The Black Utopians
“In this penetrating and moving debut, journalist Ellis examines past and present African American life in his hometown of Minneapolis . . . Ellis’s affecting research into his own family’s history forms the book’s emotional core, as he traces multiple generations who 'thrived in spite of the continued failures of the state.' The result is a searing account of Black survival in a city built on broken promises, and a damning view of liberalism as willing to pick and choose when equality is a virtue.” —Publishers Weekly
“An urgent critique of “polite” racism that demands attention.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Ellis grapples with the quiet history of white supremacy in so-called nice Minneapolis in this highly recommended book for readers interested in social justice.” —Library Journal
“In a sobering blend of family memoir and urban exposé, journalist Ellis reveals the contradiction between Minnesota’s reputation for niceness and its consistent acceptance of anti-Black racism, culminating in the murder of George Floyd. Juxtaposing more than a hundred years of de facto segregation, police violence, and unfulfilled promises and the experiences of his own relatives, he examines the toll of polite racism on a family and a community . . . with relentless precision.” —Booklist (starred)
“Minnesotans have always liked to think of themselves as nice folks—but how far does that take you in a society built to benefit only some of the people living in it? Justin Ellis deftly situates the state’s paradoxical history of outwardly progressive politics and quietly regressive policies within the epoch-making tumult of the past six years, as the Twin Cities became ground zero for America’s great “post-racial” reckoning in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and then, just a few years later, became a test case for how a city might resist an overtly authoritarian federal takeover." —Literary Hub, “Ten Great Nonfiction Titles to Read in June”
“Ellis’ passionate, elegantly written dive into the history of Minneapolis uncovers a place that’s widely considered liberal, where people say they want to do the right thing but where they repeatedly fall short.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune
“[Ellis] tells a huge story, including his family’s history moving between the Black districts of Minneapolis, his strong female relatives, and the long stop-and-start efforts to integrate Black neighborhoods . . . . And he does all this in just 350 pages with the intimacy of a writer who has lived these experiences as a Black man…. Ellis offers statistical proof of how Black citizens paid the price for progress. . . . but the text never feels like a lecture as he weaves in the tender story of his hours sitting with this mother as she shares memories while undergoing cancer treatments.” —Pioneer Press (Minneapolis)
“This is an emotional, cultural, historical, and racial history of a city that cuts through what it wants to be and reveals it for what it truly is. It’s devastating, but also so smart, insightful, and absolutely brilliant. I can’t recommend it enough. –Lyz Lenz, Literary Hub, “40 Great New Books You May Have Missed”
“Minneapolis has long been a stronghold of progressivism: slavery was banned there upon Minnesota’s statehood, and it was an early adopter of public housing. But, as Ellis demonstrates in this survey of the city’s racial history, liberal policy achievements tend to obscure more insidious forms of exclusion. A Minneapolis native, Ellis returns to his home after the murder of George Floyd. His resulting exploration tracks the ways in which Black residents were effectively segregated, through racial covenants and redlining, and overpoliced. Though Ellis’s long view of the city is tinged with cynicism, its response to last winter’s ICE invasion creates, he contends, an opening for hope.” —The New Yorker, “Briefly Noted”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Justin Ellis is a journalist and co-owner of Defector, a worker-owned media company. His work has appeared on ESPN, and in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and GQ. His TV credits include the Netflix docuseries How to Fix a Drug Scandal and Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas on HBO. He lives in New York City.
A Boston Globe Best Book of Summer 2026
One of The Millions’ Most Anticipated Spring 2026 Books
A revelatory look at one of America’s most progressive cities—Minneapolis—as journalist Justin Ellis returns to his hometown to grapple with the quiet history of white supremacy in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, uncover his family’s story of surviving “Minnesota nice,” and revisit the city years later as state violence again forces the question of what a real reckoning looks like.
It’s the “North,” they like to say, not the Midwest. It’s different. Minneapolis is a city for everyone. But in 2020, George Floyd’s murder by the city’s police left many Americans stunned and wondering, “How could this happen in Minneapolis?” To Ellis, the real question is: What made people think it couldn’t?
The Minneapolis Justin Ellis grew up in is not the idealistic metropolis it claims to be. The “City of Lakes” was built on discrimination— in its housing, its schools, its politics—much like all other American cities. Black families were systematically cut out of the prosperous neighborhoods, lush parks, and pristine lakes that make Minneapolis a haven of the heartland. Because of its image as a liberal ally in the fight for civil rights, Minneapolis has rarely been forced to confront this fact. But when George Floyd's murder sparks a global protest movement with the city as ground zero, its residents must finally ask what being a good neighbor actually means.
In a powerful new epilogue, Ellis turns his gaze back to Minneapolis as the sweeping federal immigration operation once again thrusts the city into national headlines. If George Floyd’s murder forced Minneapolis to confront questions of policing, power, and responsibility, the events of 2026 ask what those years of reckoning ultimately changed. Where fear once threatened to overwhelm the city’s response to state violence, Ellis finds a community newly practiced in dissent and collective action. The crisis reveals a Minneapolis still wrestling with its identity, but also one transformed by experience—no longer shocked into awakening, but shaped by it.
The Cruelty of Nice Folks stands to be a record of a moment in time as well as a definitive portrait of America, documenting:
The Myth of Post-Racial America: Reveals how the promises of the George Floyd reckoning faded, exposing a nation still shaped by deep inequality
The Hidden Cost of “Nice” Liberalism: Shows how progressive spaces can avoid real change, allowing injustice to persist beneath a veneer of goodwill
Minneapolis as America in Microcosm: Uses one “model” city to uncover the deeper roots of segregation, policing failures, and systemic racism
A Personal Story with National Stakes: Blends memoir and reporting to explore what it means to be Black in a place that sees itself as fair and just
REVIEWS:
“In writing a book about Minneapolis, Justin Ellis has really written a book about America's favorite lie—that good intentions lead to justice. Ellis is a rigorous historian and a visceral storyteller, and he has produced something essential: a reckoning with a city that wanted to be a safe haven for all and built a foundation that made this impossible.” –Aaron Robertson, author of The Black Utopians
“In this penetrating and moving debut, journalist Ellis examines past and present African American life in his hometown of Minneapolis . . . Ellis’s affecting research into his own family’s history forms the book’s emotional core, as he traces multiple generations who 'thrived in spite of the continued failures of the state.' The result is a searing account of Black survival in a city built on broken promises, and a damning view of liberalism as willing to pick and choose when equality is a virtue.” —Publishers Weekly
“An urgent critique of “polite” racism that demands attention.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Ellis grapples with the quiet history of white supremacy in so-called nice Minneapolis in this highly recommended book for readers interested in social justice.” —Library Journal
“In a sobering blend of family memoir and urban exposé, journalist Ellis reveals the contradiction between Minnesota’s reputation for niceness and its consistent acceptance of anti-Black racism, culminating in the murder of George Floyd. Juxtaposing more than a hundred years of de facto segregation, police violence, and unfulfilled promises and the experiences of his own relatives, he examines the toll of polite racism on a family and a community . . . with relentless precision.” —Booklist (starred)
“Minnesotans have always liked to think of themselves as nice folks—but how far does that take you in a society built to benefit only some of the people living in it? Justin Ellis deftly situates the state’s paradoxical history of outwardly progressive politics and quietly regressive policies within the epoch-making tumult of the past six years, as the Twin Cities became ground zero for America’s great “post-racial” reckoning in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and then, just a few years later, became a test case for how a city might resist an overtly authoritarian federal takeover." —Literary Hub, “Ten Great Nonfiction Titles to Read in June”
“Ellis’ passionate, elegantly written dive into the history of Minneapolis uncovers a place that’s widely considered liberal, where people say they want to do the right thing but where they repeatedly fall short.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune
“[Ellis] tells a huge story, including his family’s history moving between the Black districts of Minneapolis, his strong female relatives, and the long stop-and-start efforts to integrate Black neighborhoods . . . . And he does all this in just 350 pages with the intimacy of a writer who has lived these experiences as a Black man…. Ellis offers statistical proof of how Black citizens paid the price for progress. . . . but the text never feels like a lecture as he weaves in the tender story of his hours sitting with this mother as she shares memories while undergoing cancer treatments.” —Pioneer Press (Minneapolis)
“This is an emotional, cultural, historical, and racial history of a city that cuts through what it wants to be and reveals it for what it truly is. It’s devastating, but also so smart, insightful, and absolutely brilliant. I can’t recommend it enough. –Lyz Lenz, Literary Hub, “40 Great New Books You May Have Missed”
“Minneapolis has long been a stronghold of progressivism: slavery was banned there upon Minnesota’s statehood, and it was an early adopter of public housing. But, as Ellis demonstrates in this survey of the city’s racial history, liberal policy achievements tend to obscure more insidious forms of exclusion. A Minneapolis native, Ellis returns to his home after the murder of George Floyd. His resulting exploration tracks the ways in which Black residents were effectively segregated, through racial covenants and redlining, and overpoliced. Though Ellis’s long view of the city is tinged with cynicism, its response to last winter’s ICE invasion creates, he contends, an opening for hope.” —The New Yorker, “Briefly Noted”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Justin Ellis is a journalist and co-owner of Defector, a worker-owned media company. His work has appeared on ESPN, and in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and GQ. His TV credits include the Netflix docuseries How to Fix a Drug Scandal and Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas on HBO. He lives in New York City.
