Founding of the Washington Research Project and Children's Defense Fund mission

Emancipation and freedom as larger than Lincoln's legacy

Gordon Parks' early career as a self-taught portrait photographer in the 1930s and 1940s

Whig and Democratic party efforts to sideline slavery from national politics

Acknowledging the history of white supremacy and racist capitalism in America

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and its meaning for American democracy and freedom

Early life as the youngest child of sharecroppers in segregated Texas

Obama's response to Trump's birtherism and right-wing efforts to delegitimize his presidency

King's "wilderness" metaphor and the ongoing struggle for justice

Suppression of evidence in the Korematsu Supreme Court case

Fractures within the feminist-abolitionist coalition over the 15th Amendment

Formative experiences at summer camp and the bonds formed there

Slave narratives as abolitionist literature and firsthand testimony against slavery

Lincoln's ability to balance pragmatic coalition-building with fundamental principles

Being fired by the Obama administration based on a deceptive video clip

Mother's education and the community-wide push to educate Black women and girls

Jonas Mekas's Lithuanian background and multilingual cultural upbringing

Family's forced relocation to Oklahoma during the Indian Removal Act

Political education with the Black Panthers and father's influence on activism

SCLC organizing strategies beyond marching in the Chicago Movement

Trade journals and their limited role in guiding enslavers' treatment of enslaved people

The deep entrenchment of white supremacy in American culture and capitalism

Ben Bradlee's personality, racial curiosity, and efforts to connect across cultures

Lincoln's use of constitutional authority to issue the Emancipation Proclamation

A Norfolk weekend visit and its portrayal in Dreams from My Father

Admitting mistakes and learning from them throughout life