# When the Stars Begin to Fall: Overcoming Racism and Renewing the Promise of America - Hardcover

by **Theodore R. Johnson** (Author)

**A bold, thought-provoking pathway to the national solidarity that could, finally, address the ills of racism in America**

"Racism is an existential threat to America," Theodore R. Johnson declares at the start of his profound and exhilarating book. It is a refutation of the American Promise enshrined in our Constitution that all men and women are inherently equal. And yet racism continues to corrode our society. If we cannot overcome it, Johnson argues, while the United States will remain as a geopolitical entity, the promise that made America unique on Earth will have died.

_When the Stars Begin to Fall_ makes a compelling, ambitious case for a pathway to the national solidarity necessary to mitigate racism. Weaving memories of his own and his family's multi-generational experiences with racism, alongside strands of history, into his elegant narrative, Johnson posits that a blueprint for national solidarity can be found in the exceptional citizenship long practiced in Black America. Understanding that racism is a structural crime of the state, he argues that overcoming it requires us to recognize that a color-conscious society--not a color-blind one--is the true fulfillment of the American Promise.

Fueled by Johnson's ultimate faith in the American project, grounded in his family's longstanding optimism and his own military service, _When the Stars Begin to Fall_ is an urgent call to undertake the process of overcoming what has long seemed intractable.

### Author Biography

**Theodore R. Johnson** is a Senior Advisor at New America, leading its flagship Us@250  
initiative marking the nation's semiquincentennial, and a writer at _The  
Bulwark_. Prior to joining New America, he was a senior fellow and Director  
of the Fellows Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of  
Law, where he undertook research on race, politics, and American identity. He  
is a retired Commander in the United States Navy, serving for twenty years in a  
variety of positions, including as a White House Fellow in the first Obama  
administration and as speechwriter to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of  
Staff. His work on race relations has appeared in prominent national  
publications across the political spectrum, including the _New York Times  
Magazine_, the _Atlantic_, the _Washington Post_, the _Wall  
Street Journal_, and _National Review_, among others.

**Number of Pages:** 320

**Dimensions:** 1.2 x 9.2 x 6.2 IN

**Publication Date:** June 08, 2021

## Details

- **Price:** 26.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 26.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- When the Stars Begin to Fall: Overcoming Racism and Renewing the Promise of America - Hardcover

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