reading now and wow, harriet tubman died five years before my great-grandmother was born. my great grandmother lived until I was 21. that's how close we are to slavery resistance and abolition

as a kid, my great grandmother + grandmother + mom would talk about family born into slavery, i didn't think they were lying but i didn't think they were telling the truth or knew how long ago slavery was. And as I learn more about how planters refused abolition, it makes sense

Du Bois always reminds me that white people expected Black people to just die out after the civil war. or get deported to Africa. or get re-enslaved. All versions of those things happened, but we still here