The Underground Railroad | Journey’s End | 4

Candace Owens is rallying the troops—she sees the Democratic Party as modern-day slavery and is calling on all Black Americans to walk out in a mass exodus. In Blackout, Owens gives the history of Black politics, reveals hidden oppressions, and demonstrates how the Democratic Party has been keeping Blacks poor and needy for their own political gain. Specifically, Owens claims that Democratic policies have destroyed the nuclear family, created government dependency, and encouraged Blacks to embody victim mentalities. The only way out—Owens says—is to jump ship and join the Republicans.

Owens is a conservative activist, political commentator, talk show host, and one of the most vocal supporters of Donald Trump.

Our guide explores each of Owens’s arguments in turn and compares them to the most recent statistics and opinions of experts on both sides of the political aisle.

Dive deep into the corridors of history with "Rachel Maddow Presents: Déjà News," where Rachel Maddow and a team of speakers broaden the narrative of the civil rights movement, particularly the indomitable spirit of the Freedom Riders. In the episode "Taken for a Ride," Herbert Kaplow of NBC News recounts the chilling violence faced by media attempting to document these activists, who daringly confronted the bigotry rooted in the South's bus terminals. Listeners will catch a glimpse of what it truly meant to challenge not only segregation laws but also the social norms that bolstered racial hierarchy, as examined by Isaac-Davy Aronson and Kellie Carter Jackson.

Amidst the retelling of historical activism, Maddow seamlessly connects the deceptions of the past to present-day political strategies, drawing stark comparisons to the controversial moves by Governor Ron DeSantis. The episode sheds light on the enduring manipulation within politics, while also honoring the altruistic responses from communities faced with the consequences of these schemes. As the conversation travels from the civil rights era to our current times, with insights from Gabrielle Emanuel and Sherrilyn Ifill, "Taken for a Ride" serves as a sobering reminder of the media's power and the continuous evolution of societal norms and political decency.

Conventional accounts of American history tend to focus on the people at the top—presidents, generals, CEOs, and other influential figures and their struggles, ambitions, hopes, and dreams. But what about average people? The ones who had to live with the consequences of elite decisions, and who often struggled in obscurity? In A People’s History of the United States, historian Howard Zinn aims to tell their story, providing a bottom-up view of American history focusing on Indigenous people, Black Americans, women, laborers, and activists.

Our guide outlines Zinn’s interpretation of significant events, themes, and historical trends in American history. Through our commentary, we’ll provide alternative opinions on the motivations behind and consequences of historical events. We’ll also further explain Zinn’s approach to history and provide additional context for his arguments as well as his perspective on events that happened after the book’s publication.

Published in 1965, The Autobiography of Malcolm X chronicles how Malcolm X rose from a life of poverty and crime to become a significant leader of the civil rights movement. Malcolm X was a controversial figure—his views were often considered extreme and changed radically throughout his life. In telling his story (with the help of writer Alex Haley), Malcolm X explains why he believed what he believed—and why he fought for racial justice, even though he knew it would lead to his death.

This guide discusses the impact that early experiences of racism, pro-Black radical traditions, and Islam had on Malcolm X as well as his achievements as a civil rights activist. We’ll go into the historical and sociological context surrounding Malcolm X’s life and explore the civil rights movement (and Malcolm X’s relationship to other activists, like Martin Luther King Jr.) in more depth. We’ll also connect historical and present-day racism, and we’ll provide an update on the circumstances leading up to Malcolm X’s murder and his legacy.

The Hiding Place is an autobiographical memoir by Corrie ten Boom, a devoutly religious woman who lived in the Holland city of Haarlem during the Nazi occupation. Compelled by her unshakeable Christian morality, she defied tyranny to rescue her Jewish neighbors who faced annihilation during the Holocaust. She was ultimately caught and sent to the notorious Ravensbruck death camp, where she witnessed scenes of unimaginable cruelty. In the camp, it was Corrie’s bedrock faith in the glory of God that sustained her. She discovered that love was a far more powerful force than hate—for God’s love was truly unconquerable.

More than 50 years after the Civil Rights Movement and more than 14 years after electing its first Black president, why is the United States still divided along racial lines? That’s the central question of Ibram X. Kendi’s Stamped from the Beginning, which argues that contrary to common wisdom, racism doesn’t begin with prejudice and hatred—it begins with self-serving policies whose proponents justify their actions by inventing racist ideas. Kendi, an African American Studies scholar, develops this claim by analyzing the history of racist ideas in the United States and offering readers a better understanding of how to combat contemporary racism.

In this guide, we’ll explore such insights as how enslavers convinced themselves that slavery benefited slaves and why most antiracist reformers harbored racist thoughts. Along the way, we’ll make connections between this book and Kendi’s later writings, and we’ll expand upon, and sometimes challenge, Kendi’s ideas by referring to other prominent writers on race such as Robin DiAngelo and Jennifer Eberhardt.

The 1619 Project is an anthology of essays edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones and co-created with the New York Times that seeks to reframe American history with the institution of slavery at its core. The book asserts that American history began in 1619 with the arrival of the first ship of enslaved Africans, one year before the Mayflower arrived. It also argues that, American democracy and the prosperous nation we know today were largely built by enslaved Black Americans but that this demographic is almost entirely excluded from America’s founding stories and remains suppressed today due to racist institutions that persist from slavery.

This guide will reframe America’s founding story by exploring how the institution of slavery has impacted our economy, laws, society, and the livelihoods of Black Americans. We’ll conclude by discussing Hannah-Jones’s recommendations for how the government can make reparations for these injustices. Throughout the guide, we’ll provide a broader perspective by discussing accounts from other historians, economists, and researchers.

Published in 1965, The Autobiography of Malcolm X chronicles how Malcolm X rose from a life of poverty and crime to become a significant leader of the civil rights movement. Malcolm X was a controversial figure—his views were often considered extreme and changed radically throughout his life. In telling his story (with the help of writer Alex Haley), Malcolm X explains why he believed what he believed—and why he fought for racial justice, even though he knew it would lead to his death.

This guide discusses the impact that early experiences of racism, pro-Black radical traditions, and Islam had on Malcolm X as well as his achievements as a civil rights activist. We’ll go into the historical and sociological context surrounding Malcolm X’s life and explore the civil rights movement (and Malcolm X’s relationship to other activists, like Martin Luther King Jr.) in more depth. We’ll also connect historical and present-day racism, and we’ll provide an update on the circumstances leading up to Malcolm X’s murder and his legacy.

Conventional accounts of American history tend to focus on the people at the top—presidents, generals, CEOs, and other influential figures and their struggles, ambitions, hopes, and dreams. But what about average people? The ones who had to live with the consequences of elite decisions, and who often struggled in obscurity? In A People’s History of the United States, historian Howard Zinn aims to tell their story, providing a bottom-up view of American history focusing on Indigenous people, Black Americans, women, laborers, and activists.

Our guide outlines Zinn’s interpretation of significant events, themes, and historical trends in American history. Through our commentary, we’ll provide alternative opinions on the motivations behind and consequences of historical events. We’ll also further explain Zinn’s approach to history and provide additional context for his arguments as well as his perspective on events that happened after the book’s publication.

Abraham Lincoln is a central figure in American history: He was the 16th president of the United States, the “Great Emancipator,” and the man who led the US through the Civil War. In And There Was Light, historian and biographer Jon Meacham breaks down the myths and legends that have surrounded Abraham Lincoln, arguing that Lincoln had good intentions, and accomplished great things, but was still as flawed and prone to mistakes as anyone else.

In this guide, we’ll present Lincoln’s remarkable life in chronological order, from his birth in rural Kentucky to his assassination in Washington, D.C. We give particular attention to Lincoln’s political career, especially his actions as president during the Civil War.

In our commentary, we’ll add context for Lincoln’s life and the major events in it, especially the historical and economic motivations behind slavery and the Civil War. We’ll also explore where Meacham’s account of Lincoln’s life differs from other accounts.

In this comprehensive biography, journalist Ron Chernow describes the life and influence of Alexander Hamilton, arguing that Hamilton has been unfairly overlooked compared to other Founding Fathers. Though he never served as president, he had a profound impact on the structure of the American government and its economy. While Hamilton’s life ended in scandal and a fatal duel, Chernow believes that America today is the realization of Hamilton’s vision, far more so than that of his political rivals like Thomas Jefferson.

This guide will consider Hamilton’s life and legacy, including his unlikely ascension from a poor student from the Caribbean to a trusted advisor of George Washington and leader of one of the US’s earliest political parties. We’ll also discuss additional historical context for the 18th century, how the events of Hamilton’s life have influenced America today, historians’ responses to Chernow’s work, and the book’s adaptation into a hit 2015 musical.