Whitewashing Slavery? Not on Nikole Hannah-Jones' Watch
Context is Key
It's a new week and there's been a new attempt at downplaying the history and impact of slavery in the United States.
Professor, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones had time this week to respond to a fitness influencer and reality show personality Jillian Michaels' recent attempt to minimize the impact of slavery.
The death of expertise is the death of American democracy. Everyone is not deserving of our platforms, especially in these dangerous times. Consider this my historically accurate diss track. It's long, but facts and nuance eschew the soundbites that social media and disinformation crave.
Hannah-Jones wasted no time pulling on three decades of expertise and research to provide the context often missing in this debate and the continued attempts to whitewash and erase our history.
The Truth About Slavery
Receipts on Slavery and Racist Ideas
The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones
This book is the blueprint for re-centering Black folks in America's story. It takes the year enslaved Africans first arrived in Virginia — 1619 — and reframes U.S. history around the truth: we built this country, and our fight for freedom has shaped every inch of it. It tells the truth whitewashed history books won't. Want an alternative to the book? Jones has us covered with a podcast, documentary, and curriculum for educators.
Black AF History by Michael Harriot
History, but make it unapologetically Black, sharp, and laugh-out-loud real. Michael Harriot drops the myths and the "respectable" filters to tell our history exactly how it went down — messy, bold, and brilliant. This is the kind of book that makes you feel seen and armed with receipts.
Stamped From the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
If you've ever wondered how racism was made in America, this book breaks it all the way down. Kendi traces racist ideas back to their roots, showing how they've been weaponized to justify oppression for centuries. It's not light reading — it's essential reading. And in a country still fighting to pretend racism is just a "past issue," that makes this book dangerous… and powerful. Stamped From the Beginning also comes in editions for young children and a documentary on Netflix.
Racism & the Power of Knowledge with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
