Being an American means reckoning with a history fraught with violence and injustice. Ignoring that reality in favor of mythology is not only wrong but also dangerous. The dark chapters of American history have just as much to teach us, if not more, than the glorious ones, and often the two are intertwined.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Ken Burns (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.