Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory

Short Thoughts: How we remember matters. A friend asked me for my five quick takeaways on Twitter, so these are my takeaways:

1) There was a conscious choice, that was spoken out against at the time, to ignore white supremacy and oppression of Blacks after the war.
2) lack of care for former slaves mattered today and then.
3) WEB DuBois satirical short story that I mention at the end of my post is still the way many think of race relations.
4) Throughout history, Whites have tended to choose the option that is better for their pocketbooks, not better for justice
5) how we remember matters

This is a beautifully written book. The subject matter is far from beautiful quite often, but Blight knows how to write.

My longer thoughts (because this is a book not easily summarized) are on my blog at http://bookwi.se/race-and-reunion/