Books by Thomas C. Holt

Ordinary people do not experience history as it is taught by historians. The same people who lived through the Civil War and the eradication of slavery also dealt with the hardships of Reconstruction, so why do we almost always treat them separately? This title challenges this convention to tell the story of generations of African Americans.

"The problem of the [20th] century is the problem of the color-line," W. E. B. Du Bois wrote in 1903. His words have proven sadly prophetic. As we enter the 21st century, the problem remains. This book speaks powerfully to the question of how the circumstances of race and racism have changed in our time-and how these changes will affect our future.