America's new racial battle lines and the politics of pain

America's New Racial Battle Lines: Protect v. Repair uses a historical institutional lens to understand contemporary American politics. The book argues that American elites today are divided into two alliances, one focused on protecting the privileged position of white Christians and the other seeking to repair the harms that continue to be inflicted on Black people and America's other minority communities. This represents a significant departure from the late twentieth-century divide between color blindness and race consciousness. The authors analyze the narratives, actors, and policy proposals related to the two camps. The book is meticulous in its analysis, yet by emphasizing institutions, it downplays the role of ideology that holds these camps together. Furthermore, focusing on race as the structuring principle obscures the complex intersectionality of contemporary political ideologies.