Here are 10 useful acronyms for teaching college freshman composition, which I don't use:
1. **THESIS** – *Topic, Hook, Importance, Statement of position, Evidence, Summary*
A tool for crafting strong thesis statements.
- **Topic:** What is your paper about?
- **Hook:** How will you grab attention?
- **Importance:** Why does this matter?
- **Statement of position:** What is your claim?
- **Evidence:** How will you support it?
- **Summary:** How does this connect to your conclusion?
2. **PIE** – *Point, Illustration, Explanation*
A paragraph structure to develop ideas coherently.
- **Point:** The main idea of the paragraph.
- **Illustration:** Examples, data, or quotes that support the point.
- **Explanation:** How the illustration supports the main point.
3. **TREE** – *Topic Sentence, Reason, Example, Explanation*
A simplified model for organizing body paragraphs.
- **Topic Sentence:** What is the paragraph about?
- **Reason:** Why is this point important?
- **Example:** Evidence or an illustration to support the reason.
- **Explanation:** Link back to the thesis or clarify the significance.
4. **RACE** – *Restate, Answer, Cite, Explain*
A framework for answering essay prompts and supporting claims with evidence.
- **Restate:** Reframe the question or prompt.
- **Answer:** Directly address the question.
- **Cite:** Provide evidence from readings or research.
- **Explain:** Show how the evidence supports your answer.
5. **PEEL** – *Point, Evidence, Explanation, Link*
A method for structuring argumentative or persuasive paragraphs.
- **Point:** State your argument.
- **Evidence:** Support it with data or quotes.
- **Explanation:** Analyze the evidence.
- **Link:** Connect back to the main thesis or the next point.
6. **SOAPSTone** – *Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, Tone*
A rhetorical strategy for analyzing texts.
- **Speaker:** Who is the author?
- **Occasion:** What is the context or situation?
- **Audience:** Who is being addressed?
- **Purpose:** What is the goal of the text?
- **Subject:** What is the text about?
- **Tone:** What is the author’s attitude?
7. **CARS** – *Credibility, Accuracy, Reasonableness, Support*
A guideline for evaluating sources for academic writing.
- **Credibility:** Is the author qualified?
- **Accuracy:** Is the information correct and up-to-date?
- **Reasonableness:** Is the argument logical and free of bias?
- **Support:** Does the source provide sufficient evidence?
8. **TAP** – *Topic, Audience, Purpose*
A reminder to stay focused on the key elements of any piece of writing.
- **Topic:** What are you writing about?
- **Audience:** Who are you writing for?
- **Purpose:** Why are you writing (to inform, persuade, entertain)?
9. **FANBOYS** – *For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So*
Coordinating conjunctions used for joining clauses.
Helps students avoid run-on sentences or fragments by properly joining ideas.
10. **MEAL** – *Main idea, Evidence, Analysis, Link*
A paragraph structure that ensures cohesion and development.
- **Main Idea:** The core argument or point.
- **Evidence:** Support for the main idea.
- **Analysis:** Critical thinking about the evidence.
- **Link:** Connection to the thesis or the next paragraph.
These acronyms serve as memorable tools to help students write clearly, logically, and with proper structure.
Why Would People Visit a Monument for Those Who Championed Slavery?
Why would seemingly normal people line up to honor those who championed slavery? It's a grim puzzle, one that drags us into some dark corners of the human heart. But here are a few reasons, each more unsettling than the last.
First, humans crave group belonging like it's oxygen. Enter identitarianism, the academic term for this tribal instinct gone wrong. When white identity tribalism—a quasi-religious belief that God ordained whites as the superior tribe—takes hold, suddenly it’s not so shocking that people defend champions of slavery. It's about clinging to a twisted sense of superiority that conveniently erases empathy for everyone outside the tribe.
Second, identity is life itself. To lose it feels like annihilation. When someone's identity is tied to a toxic worldview, they hold on for dear life. And unless a better identity comes along to replace it—like, say, cosmopolitanism when the young head off to college—people will claw at their original identity with the desperation of a drowning man holding onto an anchor.
Third, when people feel their identity is threatened, they don’t just defend it; they wrap it in ritual. These rituals, heavy with pomp and ceremony, are like a narcotic that blinds them to the moral rot underneath. They turn their toxic beliefs into a pageant of honor, convinced that doing today what they did yesterday somehow justifies doing it tomorrow, forever.
Fourth, humans have a staggering ability to compartmentalize. Slave owners could whip a man to within an inch of his life, then stroll home, wipe the blood off their hands, sit down to dinner with their families, read Bible stories to their kids, and hum folk tunes by the fire. By day, they were monsters. By night, they were paragons of “polite society.” It’s this ability to live in two moral universes that allowed people to champion slavery while pretending to be good Christians or upstanding citizens.
Finally, people wearing moral blinders to preserve their cherished identity inevitably become narcissists. These are the folks who believe the world exists for their pleasure, and anyone who gets in their way is fair game for exploitation, cruelty, or worse. In their minds, they’re entitled to this world, even if it means destroying others to keep their grip on it.
In the end, the people who honor champions of slavery are moral narcissists, stunted souls who represent a festering wound in society.
And if you find a silver-tongued orator capable of pulling these tribalists out of their delusion, do let me know—I’d like to meet them.
Critical Analysis of “Why Confederate Lies Live On” by Clint Smith
Racist Iconography and The Lost Cause Myth
In his essay “Why Confederate Lies Live On,” Clint Smith explores the persistence of Confederate symbolism in American culture, particularly in places like Petersburg, Virginia. Here, the Blandford Cemetery draws thousands of white visitors annually to honor Confederate soldiers. But why? Smith argues that these individuals are captivated by a false narrative of the Civil War—one that glorifies the Confederacy as defenders of "states' rights" against "Northern Aggression," all while upholding the institution of slavery as a harmonious relationship between blacks and whites.
These visitors are not just paying respects to fallen ancestors; they are participating in a distorted version of history that flatters them and their forebears as "honorable" and "courageous." This romanticized view of the Confederacy is deeply rooted in a dangerous mythology that continues to shape public memory in the South.
Narcissism and Wishful Thinking
Smith delves into the psychological underpinnings of this historical distortion, arguing that it stems from a form of pathological narcissism. These individuals compartmentalize their understanding of history—they whitewash the atrocities committed against black people while elevating the "honor" of their ancestors. This compartmentalization is not just an innocent misunderstanding; it is a deliberate act of tribalism and clannism, rooted in a desire to maintain a sense of superiority.
Smith astutely observes, “For so many of them, history isn’t the story of what actually happened; it is just the story they want to believe. It is not a public story we all share, but an intimate one, passed down like an heirloom, that shapes their sense of who they are. Confederate history is family history, history as eulogy, in which loyalty takes precedence over truth. This is especially true at Blandford, where the ancestors aren’t just hovering in the background—they are literally buried underfoot.”
What Does Nostalgia for Slavery and Jim Crow Reveal?
Smith’s exploration of Confederate nostalgia reveals a troubling truth about those who cling to these symbols. Their fondness for the Confederacy is not just about heritage; it’s about an enduring belief in white supremacy. These individuals long for a time when white people were served by a subjugated class, and they embrace stories that reinforce this racial hierarchy.
Smith suggests that this nostalgia speaks to a deeper moral failure:
1. Servitude and Superiority: These individuals cherish the idea of being served by a servile class, willingly believing in a narrative that positions whites as the privileged race, with others existing merely for their convenience.
2. Mythical Storytelling: They perpetuate tales of "white superiority" through rituals and re-enactments that affirm their sense of dominance.
3. Defensive Reaction to Truth: When confronted with the harsh realities of racism or comparisons to Germany’s post-World War II moral reckoning, they respond with defensiveness, hostility, and even violence.
4. Fragile Identity: Their identity is so intertwined with the myth of white superiority that challenging this narrative feels like an existential threat.
5. Moral Blindness: They engage in Confederate rituals with a complete disregard for black suffering, making their existence a moral abomination rooted in white supremacist cosplay.
The Resistance to Removing Racist Statues
Smith highlights the intense resistance to efforts aimed at removing Confederate statues. This resistance is not just about preserving history; it’s about clinging to a narrative that justifies and glorifies the Confederacy.
In a striking passage, Smith recounts a speech by Paul C. Gramling Jr., a prominent figure in the Sons of Confederate Veterans, who equates those advocating for the removal of Confederate symbols with terrorists, likening them to "ISIS in the Middle East." Gramling’s speech is emblematic of the deep-seated fear and anger that fuels opposition to removing these statues. His call to "take back the narrative" is a rallying cry for those who wish to preserve a version of history that absolves the Confederacy of its sins.
Smith contrasts this perspective with the tireless efforts of those who have fought to remove these symbols—teachers, parents, civil rights veterans—who see these monuments as an affront to the truth and a glorification of an unjust cause. The fervor with which individuals like Gramling defend Confederate symbols reveals the extent to which they are willing to go to protect a version of history that serves their interests.
Smith’s analysis underscores the need for a reckoning with the truth of America’s past. The resistance to this reckoning is not merely a defense of history; it is a defense of a deeply entrenched system of white supremacy that continues to shape the present. To move forward, America must confront these lies and work towards a more honest and inclusive public memory.
Using ChatGPT to use helpful essay outlines:
My Prompt:
I want to write an essay that compares the nostalgia for Jim Crow evident in “Why Confederate Lies Live On” by Clint Smith and John Oliver's video about the Confederacy on Last Week Tonight. Give me a five-point outline for such an essay.
ChatGPT Response:
1. Introduction: The Enduring Myths of the Confederacy and Jim Crow Nostalgia
- Introduce Clint Smith’s essay “Why Confederate Lies Live On” and John Oliver’s video on Last Week Tonight about the Confederacy.
- Define the concept of "nostalgia for Jim Crow" as the idealization of a time when racial hierarchies were overtly maintained, particularly through the lens of the Confederacy and post-Reconstruction America.
- Present the thesis: Both Clint Smith’s essay and John Oliver’s video critique the nostalgic longing for the Confederacy and Jim Crow, exposing how these myths continue to shape contemporary racial attitudes and undermine progress toward racial justice.
2. Romanticizing the Confederacy: Myths and Monuments
- Discuss how both Smith and Oliver critique the romanticization of the Confederacy as a "lost cause" that glorifies white supremacy while minimizing or erasing the brutal realities of slavery and segregation.
- Smith’s analysis of the cultural and historical revisionism that persists in textbooks, public monuments, and political rhetoric, which softens the Confederacy’s role in defending slavery.
- Oliver’s satirical breakdown of how Confederate monuments and symbols are treated as heritage, ignoring their deep ties to racial oppression, particularly in Jim Crow-era attempts to rewrite history.
- Highlight how both sources emphasize that this glorification perpetuates a false narrative, creating a dangerous nostalgia for a period marked by racial violence.
3. The Weaponization of Nostalgia to Sustain White Supremacy
- Explore how nostalgia for the Confederacy and Jim Crow is used as a tool to uphold white supremacy in both Smith’s essay and Oliver’s video.
- Smith’s argument that the continued reverence for Confederate symbols reinforces systemic racism and provides cover for contemporary racial inequities.
- Oliver’s comedic but cutting take on how Confederate apologists weaponize historical inaccuracies to resist changes that would promote racial equality, such as the removal of statues or changing school names.
- Discuss how both Smith and Oliver reveal that nostalgia serves as a barrier to confronting and dismantling present-day forms of racism.
4. The Psychological and Social Consequences of Confederate Nostalgia
- Analyze how both Smith and Oliver address the psychological and social impacts of Confederate nostalgia on racial identity and memory.
- Smith’s discussion of how the idealization of the Confederacy distorts collective memory, particularly among white Americans, by fostering a sense of grievance or loss tied to racial privilege.
- Oliver’s focus on how the continued existence of Confederate symbols, especially in public spaces, affects communities of color, perpetuating feelings of alienation and exclusion.
- Examine how both authors argue that this form of nostalgia not only distorts history but also deepens racial divisions and prevents the healing necessary for societal progress.
5. The Call to Confront and Correct the Historical Narrative
- Compare how both Smith and Oliver advocate for confronting and correcting the historical narrative around the Confederacy and Jim Crow.
- Smith’s insistence that Americans must reckon with the truth of their history, not the sanitized or nostalgic version that upholds white supremacy, and his emphasis on education as a crucial tool for breaking the cycle of myth-making.
- Oliver’s humorous yet forceful argument that the removal of Confederate monuments and the reshaping of public memory are essential steps toward addressing historical injustices and creating a more equitable society.
- Conclude by emphasizing how both Smith and Oliver argue that dismantling these nostalgic myths is necessary for America to move forward in its pursuit of racial justice and equality.
My Prompt:
I want to write an essay that compares the way Frederick Douglass’ memoir and Spike Lee’s movie Malcolm X address how Douglass and Malcolm X championed the rehabilitation of the spirit in the African-American community and helped lift the community out of the Sunken Place. Give me a 5-point outline for such an essay.
ChatGPT Response:
1. Introduction: The Power of Self-Rehabilitation and the Fight Against the "Sunken Place"
- Briefly introduce Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave and Spike Lee’s Malcolm X.
- Define the "Sunken Place" as a metaphor for the psychological and spiritual oppression of African Americans, tying it to both historical enslavement and modern systemic racism.
- Present the thesis: Both Douglass and Malcolm X, through their transformative journeys, championed the rehabilitation of the African-American spirit and led efforts to lift their communities out of oppression, providing models of self-liberation and empowerment.
2. Spiritual and Intellectual Awakening: Douglass’ Education and Malcolm X’s Prison Transformation
- Compare how Douglass and Malcolm X experienced intellectual awakenings that served as catalysts for their personal and spiritual rehabilitation.
- Douglass’ self-taught literacy as a tool for liberation and empowerment, symbolizing freedom from the mental enslavement of ignorance.
- Malcolm X’s transformation during his time in prison, embracing knowledge, Islam, and Black nationalism as tools for his own spiritual redemption and as a path to lift the community.
- Discuss how both men saw education as the first step toward reclaiming dignity and power, pulling themselves and others out of the "Sunken Place."
3. Challenging the Dominant System: Confronting the Tools of Oppression
- Explore how both Douglass and Malcolm X actively confronted the systems that oppressed African Americans.
- Douglass’ fight against the institution of slavery, not just physically but by dismantling the moral and psychological justifications for it.
- Malcolm X’s critique of systemic racism, particularly white supremacy and the internalization of Black inferiority, and his call for Black pride and self-sufficiency.
- Examine how both men redefined the African-American identity and challenged the submissive, docile image of Blackness that the dominant culture imposed.
4. Rehabilitation of the African-American Spirit: From Submission to Empowerment
- Analyze how Douglass and Malcolm X each focused on the rehabilitation of the African-American spirit—moving from the hopelessness of subjugation to empowerment and action.
- Douglass’ emphasis on human dignity, self-worth, and the essential right to freedom as a means of restoring agency to enslaved African Americans.
- Malcolm X’s insistence on self-respect, Black nationalism, and the refusal to accept second-class citizenship as key to liberating the African-American psyche.
- Discuss the role of faith in both men's journeys—Douglass in his Christian belief in justice, and Malcolm X in his embrace of Islam as a path to spiritual and social liberation.
5. Lifting the Community: From Personal Liberation to Collective Empowerment
- Contrast how Douglass and Malcolm X moved from their personal journeys of rehabilitation to lifting the African-American community as a whole.
- Douglass as a public intellectual, abolitionist, and political advocate, using his own story to inspire collective action and the fight for equal rights.
- Malcolm X’s emphasis on self-reliance and communal responsibility, urging African Americans to reject reliance on white society and build their own institutions.
- Conclude by discussing how both figures, through their powerful examples of self-transformation, provided blueprints for lifting the African-American community out of the "Sunken Place"—a journey of reclaiming identity, power, and dignity in the face of oppression.
***
5 Simplified Essay Prompts Geared Toward 1,200 Words
Simplified Version 1:
Using Frederick Douglass’ memoir and Clint Smith’s essays "Monuments to the Unthinkable" and "Why Confederate Lies Live On," explore how African-American history functions as a critical tool against the dangers of historical revisionism and cultural forgetting.
Simplified Version 2:
Through a comparison of Frederick Douglass’ memoir and Jordan Peele’s Get Out, write an essay that defines the concept of the "Sunken Place" and explores its metaphorical significance in both works.
Simplified Version 3
Compare how Frederick Douglass' memoir and Spike Lee’s film Malcolm X depict the restoration of the African-American spirit. Focus on how both figures help uplift the community from a figurative Sunken Place of racial oppression.
Simplified Version 4:
Write an essay comparing the depiction of the Sunken Place in Jordan Peele’s Get Out to its representation in Donald Glover’s Atlanta episode “Rich W, Poor W” (Season 3, Episode 9). Examine how each work uses the concept to critique racial identity and social entrapment.
Simplified Version 5:
Using Clint Smith’s essay "Why Confederate Lies Live On" and John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight segment on the Confederacy, analyze the causes behind the nostalgic whitewashing of slavery and the Jim Crow era.
Simplified Building Blocks for All Prompts:
Building Block 1: Define the "Sunken Place" as a metaphor for the psychological and social effects of racism. Discuss its implications for both individuals and communities in the context of oppression.
Building Block 2: Write a thesis that clearly outlines your argument. For example: "Both Douglass and Peele use the concept of the Sunken Place to illustrate the dehumanizing effects of systemic racism, yet they also offer paths to personal and communal redemption through education and self-awareness."
Feel free to choose whichever prompt helps you achieve clarity and maintain focus within the 1,200-word count. Good luck with your essays!
Frederick Douglass and The Sunken Place
When we talk about the Sunken Place in the context of Jordan Peele’s Get Out, it’s crucial to recognize the powerful connection to Frederick Douglass, perhaps the greatest American who ever lived. As a former slave, writer, orator, and abolitionist, Douglass articulated the concept of the Sunken Place long before Peele brought it to the screen. In his writings, Douglass revealed the anguish of being enslaved, but he never lost hope of becoming free. Even at his lowest moments, Douglass clung to the idea of his identity as a free man, a man with agency and self-determination.
In this sense, the Sunken Place isn't about surrender. Instead, it’s where we see the might of resistance to evil. Douglass’s writings remind us that even in the deepest suffering, there can be a resolve to fight for freedom.
The First Feature of the Sunken Place: Your Oppressors Controlling the Narrative
Douglass opens his memoir by showing how slave masters distorted the truth to justify their cruelty. The physical pain of slavery was unbearable, but the spiritual pain of having your suffering misrepresented added another layer of torment. Douglass’s act of defiance—teaching himself to read and write—allowed him to reclaim his narrative, much like Jordan Peele gives a voice to the black experience in Get Out. Who gets to describe hell? The tormentor or the tormented? Douglass, like Peele’s protagonist, makes it clear: only the oppressed can truly tell their own story.
The Second Feature: Being Born as “Nothing”
Slaves were not considered fully human. Douglass and his fellow slaves didn’t know their birthdays because they weren’t seen as individuals worthy of such recognition. The absence of a birthday was symbolic of their erasure from the human story. This theme of dehumanization is central to both Douglass’s experience and the Sunken Place in Get Out.
The Third Feature: Family Bonds Torn Apart
Douglass was separated from his mother as an infant, which was standard practice among slaveholders. This cruel custom was designed to break familial bonds and ensure that slaves saw themselves only as property. The pain of these separations is a hallmark of the Sunken Place—being emotionally isolated and powerless against cruelty.
The Fourth Feature: Witnessing the Brutality Against Loved Ones
As a child, Douglass witnessed his Aunt Hester being savagely whipped by her slave master. The sight and sound of such violence inflicted scars on Douglass’s soul, similar to how the protagonist in Get Out is surrounded by a system designed to dehumanize him. This repeated exposure to violence is part of what drives a person deeper into the Sunken Place, where they are forced to endure cruelty with no escape.
The Fifth Feature: Unspeakable Anguish
Douglass wrote about the songs slaves would sing as they walked to the Great House Farm. These songs expressed a pain so deep that Douglass admitted words couldn’t capture it. To truly understand the agony of slavery, one had to feel the “ineffable sadness” in those songs. Similarly, the Sunken Place is a space where words fail to describe the depth of suffering.
The Sixth Feature: Pretending to Be Happy
Slaves had to act like they were content, even though they were living in agony. To speak the truth meant risking brutal punishment or being sold away from family and friends. Slave masters often sent spies to catch any signs of discontent. This forced performance—pretending to be grateful while enduring unimaginable suffering—is another facet of the Sunken Place.
The Seventh Feature: Literacy as the Path to Freedom
When Douglass’s mistress, Sophia Auld, began teaching him to read, her husband quickly stopped her. He knew that literacy would give Douglass a sense of his own worth and a desire for freedom. From that moment, Douglass realized that the ability to read and write was his pathway out of the Sunken Place. Literacy became a powerful tool in his fight for freedom, and he even taught other slaves to read, spreading the seeds of rebellion.
The Eighth Feature: The Mental Toll of Slavery
Douglass admitted that the weight of being a slave often made him wish for death. The constant reminder of his bondage was inescapable. Yet, the word “abolition” sparked a glimmer of hope in him. He clung to the idea that one day slavery would end, and this hope helped keep him from falling completely into despair.
The Ninth Feature: Religious Hypocrisy
Douglass observed that the cruelest slave masters were often the most religious. These men would preach about kindness while treating their slaves with extraordinary cruelty. The hypocrisy of these pious men was staggering, and it showed Douglass how deeply embedded the evil of slavery was in society.
The Tenth Feature: Being Punished for Intelligence
Douglass’s intelligence made him a target for his masters. They hated the way he carried himself—his intelligence made him look “too free.” This “uppity” attitude threatened them, and they whipped him to keep him in line. But Douglass refused to be broken. He resolved to fight back, both physically and mentally, against the oppression that sought to consign him to the Sunken Place.
The Eleventh Feature: Breaking in Body, Soul, and Spirit
At his lowest point, Douglass felt utterly broken. His natural spark, his love of reading, his will to fight—all seemed crushed. He felt like a brute, stripped of his humanity. But watching ships sail out of Chesapeake Bay filled him with a longing for freedom. The desire to escape began to take root, leading to his eventual fight for liberation.
The Twelfth Feature: The Brainwashing of Slavery
Slavery wasn’t just about physical bondage; it was about psychological control. Douglass noted that slave masters wanted their slaves to be thoughtless, unable to see the injustice of their situation. They worked to darken the slave’s moral and mental vision, trying to convince them that slavery was right. This brainwashing is the final, insidious layer of the Sunken Place, where oppression becomes so deeply ingrained that the enslaved lose the desire to be free.
In sum, Frederick Douglass’s life and writings give us a profound understanding of the Sunken Place. His story is one of resilience, intelligence, and an unbreakable will to be free—qualities that make him one of the greatest figures in American history.
***
Douglass revealed that this weaponized misinformation operates in three distinct phases:
Phase 1: The Cynical Original Story
This phase begins with the greed-driven opportunists who were lured by the enormous profits of the European slave trade. Lacking any spiritual or moral integrity, these individuals cynically twisted Christianity to concoct a world where they claimed it was God’s will for white people to be rulers and people of color to be servants. These cynics didn’t believe their own rhetoric, but they knew their white audience would eagerly swallow this poison, embracing a perverted version of religion that justified slavery. This initial corruption of Christianity into a racial doctrine laid the foundation for slavery and segregation, marking the birth of weaponized misinformation.
Phase 2: The Cosplay Stage
As highlighted by Dr. David Pilgrim’s Jim Crow Museum, this phase involved a society-wide role-play where whites adopted the persona of entitled aristocrats, while blacks were forced into servile roles. Every aspect of life—food, games, entertainment, commerce, politics, relationships—was dictated by this racial cosplay. White people couldn’t even engage in activities like playing chess with black individuals because such an act implied equality, thereby threatening the very foundation of the racial hierarchy. This relentless, obsessive cosplay, which demanded strict adherence to these artificial roles, became the second phase of weaponized misinformation, reinforcing the illusion of white superiority and black inferiority.
Phase 3: The Denial Stage
Following the horrors of slavery, Jim Crow, lynchings, and redlining (the systemic denial of black people’s access to premium housing), this phase saw whites engage in a collective denial of the brutality and atrocities they had inflicted. They downplayed the violence, claimed, “it wasn’t that bad,” and concocted a twisted narrative known as The Lost Cause. In this revisionist history, whites nostalgically mourn the “good old days” when blacks and whites supposedly “knew their place” and lived harmoniously—until, they argue, the “evil Northerners” disrupted this harmony with their so-called “Northern aggression,” violating “state rights.” This form of historical revisionism is yet another insidious example of weaponized misinformation.
Critically examining these phases of weaponized misinformation is not about promoting any political agenda, Wokeness, or Critical Race Theory. Instead, it’s about uncovering the truth, restoring historical accuracy, and ensuring that the atrocities of slavery and racial oppression are never allowed to persist unchallenged. By bearing witness to the truth, we resist the perpetuation of these horrors and commit ourselves to a more just and informed society.
***