The Grift: The Downward Spiral of Black Republicans from the Party of Lincoln to the Cult of Trump

Signed edition of THE GRIFT by Clay Cane

Part history and part cultural analysis, The Grift chronicles the nuanced history of Black Republicans. Journalist and radio host Clay Cane lays out how Black Republicanism has been mangled by opportunists who are apologists for racism. After the Civil War, the pillars of Black Republicanism were a balanced critique of both political parties, civil rights for all Americans, reinventing an economy based on exploitation, and, most importantly, building thriving Black communities. How did Black Republicanism devolve from revolutionaries like Frederick Douglass to the puppets in the Trump era? Whether it's radical conservatives like South Carolina Senator Tim Scott or Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, they are consistently viral news and continuously upholding egregious laws at the expense of their Black brethren. Black faces in high places providing cover for explicit bigotry is one of the greatest threats to the liberation of Black and brown people. Through an examination of these personalities and their strategies, Cane exposes the grift, reclaims Black political history that faces erasure, and presents a roadmap to liberate our future.