A couple things stand out. 400,000 seems like a very low number. Secondly, I was expecting something much deeper than merely “degrees of whiteness” in the African American population from this topic.

For me, the elephant in the room on this topic is the genetic impact of generations of verbal, physical and sexual trauma on multiple generations of an entire people. And while we’re at it, the genetic impact on whites of perpetrating, condoning, accepting and/or being indifferent to what amounts to a black holocaust in the New World. That’s a trauma too.

Don’t mean to sound angry and alarmist; I’m neither. It’s just that there is so much that is known about the lives of black folk during this time. Perhaps not widespread. But well documented.

I would hope that would inspire deeper intellectual curiosity from our academic community about impact. We still have far too many unanswered questions about the impact of this institution on the America, and Americans, of today.

If we know nothing else about the times we are living in now, it must be substantial.