Friday's Musings

The possibility of discovering powerful untold stories excites authors of historical works. It compels us to hold the lantern against every crevice. Inspires us to sift through each particle of sand. Even the most learned of readers can blurt, “I’ve never heard this before!” We covet that exclamation. Their Accomplices Wore Robes promises to incite oohs and aahs.

One of the most fascinating stories my research revealed stems from a seminal Supreme Court case, Strauder v. West Virginia. In 1873, the West Virginia legislature passed a law that restricted jury service to White men. The attorneys of Taylor Strauder, a Black man convicted in West Virginia of murdering his wife, argued that Strauder’s indictment and conviction violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. West Virginia, Strauder’s attorneys argued, forbade Black men from serving on juries, infringing Strauder’s rights under the new amendment.

In 1880, the United States Supreme Court agreed, with Justice William Strong writing that West Virginia’s jury discrimination law “is practically a brand upon [Black people], affixed by law; an assertion of their inferiority, and a stimulant to that race prejudice which is an impediment to securing to individuals of the race that equal justice which the law aims to secure to all others.” This case serves as leading precedent for why a law that explicitly denies a race a civil right offends the Constitution.

Many know this basic story though. I unearthed, however, that the name Strauder found its place in American legal history, American civil rights history, only because of the most heinous species of crime to ever haunt the United States.

With the help of his attorneys, another Black man, John Tolliver, convicted of murder before Strauder was, likewise was striving to invalidate West Virginia’s jury discrimination law in the 1870s. Tolliver, though, was convicted of murdering a young White girl, and a mob lynched him before his case could reach the Supreme Court. More yet, a local newspaper chronicled, blow-by-blow, his lynching. The newspaper clearly had a reporter spectating a horde of White men hanging the once enslaved Tolliver from a tree.

This story disappeared from history. No longer.

One thesis I will explore here at The Braveverse holds that America faces an existential threat because millions amongst the population—those in the MAGA movement in particular—exhibit a cultural unfitness for democracy. A profound failure of citizenship, in short, imperils this county. And we must identify this pervasive, disconcerting deficiency as cultural—it reflects the shared ways of living, thinking, behaving, and interacting within a population, including beliefs, values, and practices that are transmitted from one generation to the next.

Millions struggle to behave in a manner consistent with maintaining a healthy, functioning democracy. And we mustn't regard this as an unexpected eruption of pathology that might suddenly vanish. No, a deep-seated, systemic malady plagues America, one that, if not counteracted, could render reforming our troubled republic impossible.

Far too many demonstrate a poor civic knowledge, lacking comprehension of how our government works. And thus, they have no idea why civic engagement offers the essential avenue to affect the system to better address the needs of the people. Far too many cannot comprehend or acknowledge the facts that create our surrounding world, meaning they have no ability to grasp what is happening in our country, in our world at any given moment. And thus, they lack the requisite knowledge to respond to events and problems appropriately. Far too many don't grasp policy and how it impacts their lives. And thus, they cannot make informed decisions that will propel the country in a positive direction. Far too many set as their goal the misery of their fellow citizens. And thus, they turn potential political allies in the struggle to improve everyone's lives into persecuted enemies. Far too many become dupes, easily manipulated by propaganda, possibly since they want to believe untruths, because these fictions afford them comfort. And thus, vapid slogans and fearmongering, not substance, drives their thinking.

More on this thesis in due time.

President Donald Trump’s White House has framed its crusade against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as an effort to eliminate unjust, illegal, and unconstitutional race-based preferences. In reality, however, the administration continues a long-standing national project of caste preservationism—a mission to maintain White hegemony in America’s political and social order.

From the exclusionary policies of the past to the present-day disparagement of DEI, the impulse to uphold White dominance has defined U.S. history. The Trump administration’s anti-DEI efforts—whether through policy rollbacks, inflammatory rhetoric, or executive orders—advance this broader agenda, reinforcing the idea that America belongs to White people.

A few days ago, my editor at Doubleday informed me that Kirkus Reviews, a magazine that reviews books and assists readers in discovering new books, assessed Their Accomplices Wore Robes and gave it a starred review. Kirkus awards the star to “books of exceptional merit.” The review praises the book wholeheartedly.