How We Win the Civil War
Securing a Multiracial Democracy and Ending White Supremacy for Good
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
The bestselling author pulls no punches on what America needs to defeat white supremacy
National political commentator Steve Phillips’s “politically charged and thoughtfully reasoned” (Kirkus Reviews) How We Win the Civil War helped chart the way forward for progressives and people of color, arguing that Democrats must recognize the nature of the fight we’re in, which is a contest between democracy and white supremacy left unresolved after the Civil War. Combining a powerful grasp of history with Phillips’s trademark, no-nonsense political critique, this “spirited and persuasive . . . rousing call for change” (Publishers Weekly) argues that we will not overcome until we govern as though we are under attack—until we finally recognize that the time has come to finish the conquest of the Confederacy and all that it represents.
With a new preface laying out what is at stake in the 2024 general election, Phillips delivers razor-sharp prescriptions for the new political season, including specific guidance for politicians, policymakers, and ordinary citizens alike. “A foundational contribution to the emerging field of multiracial democracy” (Spencer Overton), How We Win the Civil War is the essential political book for 2024 and beyond—showing us how to rid our politics of white supremacy, once and for all.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Podcast host Phillips (Brown Is the New White) explores the legacy of the Civil War on American politics in this punchy polemic. Opening with an account of the January 6 Capitol riot, Phillips traces the roots of Trumpism back to the Confederacy. He draws numerous connections between the actions of Trump's supporters and the "Confederate Battle Plan" mounted by Southerners in the years after the Civil War, claiming, for example, that both movements sought to "ruthlessly rewrite the laws" and "distort public opinion" to undermine "the march toward the multiracial makeover of America." White supremacist ideology runs so deep in the national culture, Phillips claims, that even "Black folks' supposed allies hemmed and hawed when it came time to put a prohibition on slavery and racial discrimination in the U.S. Constitution." Elsewhere, he explains how minstrelsy was "explicitly and intentionally promoted in opposition to the pre–Civil War abolitionist movement," delves into the racist "birther movement" against President Obama, and highlights contemporary campaigns against voter suppression in Arizona, Georgia, Texas, and other states. Throughout, Phillips draws incisive lessons from Martin Luther King Jr., Stacey Abrams, and other civil rights activists and calls on progressives to "reorient our thinking about what leaders look like." Spirited and persuasive, this is a rousing call for change.
