Their Accomplices Wore Robes : How the Supreme Court Chained Black America to the Bottom of a Racial Caste System

Brando Simeo Starkey

ISBN 10: 0385547382 / ISBN 13: 9780385547383

Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group Jun 2025, 2025

About this Item

Neuware - A magisterial new history of the role of the Supreme Court as an ally in implementing and preserving a racial caste system in AmericaTheir Accomplices Wore Robes takes readers from the Civil War era to the present and describes how the Supreme Court even more than the presidency or Congress aligned with the enemies of Black progress to undermine the promise of the Constitution s Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. The Reconstruction Amendments which sought to abolish slavery, establish equal protection under the law, and protect voting rights converted the Constitution into a potent anti-caste document. But in the years since, the Supreme Court has refused to allow the amendments to fulfill that promise. Time and again, when petitioned to make the nation s founding conceit that all men are created equal real for Black Americans, the nine black robes have chosen white supremacy over racial fairness.Their Accomplices Wore Robes brings to life dozens of cases and their rich casts of characters petitioners, attorneys, justices to explain how America arrived at this point and how society might arrive somewhere better, even as today s federal courts lurch rightward. In this groundbreaking grand history, Brando Simeo Starkey reveals a troubling and dark aspect of American history.

Seller Inventory # 9780385547383

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Their Accomplices Wore Robes : How the Supreme Court Chained Black America to the Bottom of a Racial Caste System
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group Jun 2025
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0385547382
• ISBN 13: 9780385547383
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 241W x 167H x 52D millimeters 241 millimeters width by 167 millimeters height by 52 millimeters depth
• Weight: 957 grams

About this title

Synopsis

A magisterial new history of the role of the Supreme Court as an ally in implementing and preserving a racial caste system in America

Their Accomplices Wore Robes takes readers from the Civil War era to the present and describes how the Supreme Court—even more than the presidency or Congress—aligned with the enemies of Black progress to undermine the promise of the Constitution’s Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. 

The Reconstruction Amendments—which sought to abolish slavery, establish equal protection under the law, and protect voting rights—converted the Constitution into a potent anti-caste document. But in the years since, the Supreme Court has refused to allow the amendments to fulfill that promise. Time and again, when petitioned to make the nation’s founding conceit—that all men are created equal—real for Black Americans, the nine black robes have chosen white supremacy over racial fairness.

Their Accomplices Wore Robes brings to life dozens of cases and their rich casts of characters—petitioners, attorneys, justices—to explain how America arrived at this point and how society might arrive somewhere better, even as today’s federal courts lurch rightward. In this groundbreaking grand history, Brando Simeo Starkey reveals a troubling and dark aspect of American history.

About the Author

BRANDO SIMEO STARKEY is a writer and scholar. A graduate of Harvard Law School and a member of the New York Bar, he taught law at Villanova Law School and wrote for several years for ESPN's The Undefeated (now Andscape). Born and raised in Cincinnati, he lives in Southern California with his wife and two sons. He will launch a newsletter, The Braveverse, about law, politics, and freedom from caste, at the TheBraveverse.com, in January 2025.