A middle-aged white man, military veteran, and tour guide at Monticello Plantation who provides insights into Thomas Jefferson’s relationship to slavery during tours, influencing the author’s understanding of slavery’s history.

Director of African American History and the Getting Word Project at Monticello, whose discussions with Smith emphasize the role of lineage and public history in reckoning with slavery.

A founding father and former owner of Monticello whose complex relationship with slavery is explored through historical evidence and the lingering duality in America's racial legacy.

An enslaved woman at Monticello with whom Thomas Jefferson had a relationship, representing the entangled racial and sexual power dynamics of slavery that Smith examines in his narrative.

An enslaved person and plantation overseer who led the 1811 German Coast slave revolt, highlighting historical acts of resistance against slavery that Smith discusses in context of the broader fight against white supremacy.

A Confederate general whose legacy and the revisionist narratives around his role in the Civil War are explored as part of America’s ongoing struggle with historical memory and racism.

A Black figure mythologized as a Confederate soldier in the Lost Cause narrative, whose story complicates the simplistic historical accounts of the Civil War.

Al Edwards, Sr., was a Texas politician and Civil Rights activist who campaigned successfully for Juneteenth to become a state holiday, with his son, Al Edwards II, providing additional insights into his legacy.

The great-granddaughter of Jack Yates, a leader in the Houston community post-Emancipation, whose account highlights the historical significance of Emancipation Park and Black resilience.

A tour guide of the Underground Railroad in New York City who emphasizes the global scale of slavery and counters narratives that detach Northern states from their complicity in slavery.

A free Black man in the 19th century who used his restaurant to aid escapees, demonstrating the essential role of Black abolitionists in the fight against slavery.

The author’s living elders, whose personal histories embody the legacy of slavery and underscore its proximity to present-day experiences, helping Smith connect with his family roots in his exploration of American history.