The idea of racial purity
In America, we generally see race in black and white. President-elect Barack Obama is mixed-race, and that’s where the idea of “race” gets murky. But dig a little deeper, and things quickly get mixed up.
On this edition of Backstory, Annette Gordon–Reed shares some of her research about Thomas Jefferson’s relationship with his slave, Sally Hemings. And, Daryl Scott argues that old ways of thinking about race won’t go away quickly.
By the way, Backstory is a new public radio program that examines history in the context of the present. The Mediavore’s Graham Griffith has this profile of the program.
