“When the Stars Begin to Fall offers an impassioned account of what we need to do to save this country. Drawing on political philosophy and history, Theodore R. Johnson tells the truth about how racism remains an existential threat to American democracy. He writes beautifully about the resources found in the Black tradition that may help save us all. And he offers concrete suggestions about what we can do right now. In the end, the book is motivated by an unshakable love of country rooted in a renewed sense of civil religion that is not beholden to the idols of race. Johnson calls us to live together differently―to imagine a kind of solidarity with each other that finally leaves behind the very thing that threatens to destroy this fragile experiment in democracy. This is the kind of book to read and reread and to argue over. When the Stars Begin to Fall is exactly what we need in this time of storm and stress.”