Praise for The Price of Union
“The Price of Union cracks open American myths that we tell ourselves about our innate goodness and enlightened virtue.”
Father Richard Rohr,
Franciscan friar, teacher, author, and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation
“Bold and dangerous in the best way. The book quietly rearranges the reader's worldview.”
Erika Alexander,
actress, writer, director, and activist
“If you want to understand why American democracy feels so unstable, The Price of Union is required reading.”
Bakari Sellers,
two-time New York Times bestselling author, CNN political commentator, and attorney
“The Price of Union delivers the paradigm shift we need to finally see racism for what it truly is.”
LaTosha Brown,
cofounder, Black Voters Matter, and political strategist and organizer
From Jamestown to January 6, a new framework
for understanding American democracy.
Jamestown → Constitution → Civil War → Reconstruction → Civil Rights → January 6
About The Price of Union
America tells a story about democracy rooted in liberty, equality, and justice.
The Price of Union tells a different story.
Kelly Burton argues that racial caste has long served as the social infrastructure of American democracy, organizing power, shaping belonging, and determining who benefited from the American experiment and who bore its costs.
Drawing on history from Jamestown to January 6, the book traces how racial hierarchy helped structure the nation’s political institutions, economic arrangements, and democratic practices, revealing the system beneath the American story.
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, The Price of Union offers a provocative new framework for understanding democracy, race, and the forces reshaping the American political order.
Curious? Read an excerpt.
Read the opening pages of The Price of Union and explore the question at the heart of the book: What if American democracy isn’t undergoing a political crisis, but a racial reckoning?
Enter your email address to download a free PDF excerpt.
Why This Book, Why Now
Political polarization is deepening. Trust in institutions continues to erode. Debates over voting rights, citizenship, history, and public life have become increasingly contentious.
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, Americans find themselves asking fundamental questions about democracy, identity, belonging, and the future of the nation itself.
Many see these developments as evidence that American democracy is breaking down.
The Price of Union offers a different lens.
What if the instability we are experiencing is not a departure from our history, but a confrontation with it?
Understanding this moment requires understanding the systems that shaped the nation from the beginning. But understanding alone is not enough.
The Price of Union challenges readers to imagine what democracy beyond racial caste might require and what it would take to build a nation rooted in shared humanity and capable of serving the common good.
The Price of Union, in Kelly’s Words
Hear Kelly Burton explain the argument at the heart of The Price of Union and how racial caste helped shape the institutions, power arrangements, and democratic practices that continue to dictate American life today.
About Kelly
Kelly Burton, PhD, is a political scientist, entrepreneur, and civic leader whose work explores the relationship between race, power, and democracy in American life.
As CEO of Black Innovation Alliance, she leads a national network advancing entrepreneurship and economic mobility in communities across the country. For more than two decades, her work has focused on the systems, institutions, and power structures that shape opportunity, belonging, and civic life.
Her insights have been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, NBC News, Marketplace, TechCrunch, Inc., and Essence. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Center for Action and Contemplation, founded by Father Richard Rohr.
Drawing on her experience as both a scholar and practitioner, Burton brings a distinctive perspective to questions of race, democracy, and the American experiment. The Price of Union is the culmination of years spent studying how power is organized in American society and what happens when the systems that once sustained political order begin to break down.
She holds a PhD in Political Science from Emory University and lives in Atlanta with her husband, Steve.
Media
As Featured In:
Kelly is available for interviews, speaking events, and other media opportunities.
To book Kelly, please contact Mary Sasso at mary@amplifypublishing.com.
For bulk order inquiries, please contact Alison Keiser at alison@amplifypublishing.com.
Speaking
Bring Kelly Burton to Your Campus, Conference, or Organization
Kelly Burton is a political scientist, author, and nationally recognized leader whose work explores the relationship between race, power, democracy, and economic opportunity.
Drawing on the ideas explored in The Price of Union, Kelly helps audiences make sense of the forces shaping American society and imagine what a more just and inclusive future might require.
Popular topics include:
- The Price of Union: Race, Power, and American Democracy
- America at 250: Democracy at a Crossroads
- Race, Power, and the Future of the American Experiment
- Building Inclusive Economies
- Belonging, Democracy, and Social Change
For media inquiries, contact Mary Sasso mary@amplifypublishing.com. For podcast, speaking and event inquiries, please contact Titi Oluwo at titi@thefutureofagency.com.
Explore past keynotes, interviews, and conversations on the future of American society:
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