"That it has gotten so bad in the past should free us of any illusion that it cannot get much worse now. But that it has been successfully defeated in the past — or at least beaten back — should free us from the fatalism that it cannot be beaten back now.”

I loved telling this story. It is the story of slavery in the north, too often overlooked, and the story of the unexpected friendship between two women – one Black and one white – who confronted this history together. In these times, that feels like a balm.

Pope Leo’s ancestors had roots in Black Catholic communities that were deeply impacted by the Church’s involvement in and support of slavery/segregation. That they held on to their faith and worked to make the Church responsive to a diverse flock – and produced our new pope! -- inspire me.

Hidden legacies! Our new American pope was born in Chicago, but his maternal ancestors were Creoles of color from New Orleans, according to Jari Honora, a genealogist and family historian at the Historic New Orleans Collection. #PopeLeoXIV

What does hate look like in New York City? My undergraduate students at nyu.edu have been poring over court records, interviewing lawyers, victims and scholars as they report on hate crimes – and the battle to combat them -- across the city.

So honored to have joined the scores of writers and scholars who gathered in Montgomery this weekend for an incredible conference: Telling the Stories of Black Lives through Biography! It was sponsored by @biographersintl.bsky.social, which creates a wonderful community for all of us. Such a balm!

Sponsored by the Biographers International Organization, the conference will bring together award-winning authors and folks just getting started to talk about the joys and challenges of the craft. Hope to see you there! biographersinternational.org/montgomery-b...

Do you have a biography or a memoir that you’ve been dreaming about writing? Please join us in Montgomery, Al. on March 21-22 for the first national Black biography conference in 40 years! You'll find registration information here: biographersinternational.org/montgomery-b...

Soccer in January. It’s 35 degrees with a real feel of 28. Someone clearly loves this game! (And someone clearly loves this kid!)

Diving in! Heading back to New Orleans, circa 1849

So thrilled to start the New Year in the archives! I dove right back into 1840s Louisiana this morning, plantations, cotton, sugar, planter fortunes and glimpses of the enslaved people whose forced labor powered it all.

In 1791, three brothers decided to take their fight for freedom to the courts. Their target? The Jesuit priest who had enslaved them. Many thanks to the team at Criminal, the acclaimed podcast, for taking this chapter of my book,THE 272, and bringing it to life. thisiscriminal.com/episode-295-...

This is hard history. I know that some people would rather turn away. But it is our history. We have to know where we've been to move forward.

Hoping to connect here with fellow journalists/authors/writers, historians, academics and folks who love writing, history and studying slavery and its legacies!

In between, I co-authored, UNSEEN: UNPUBLISHED BLACK HISTORY FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES PHOTO ARCHIVES, which explores the stories of the scores of photographs that languished unpublished for decades in the Times archives. Including this one of Malcolm X's house in Queens after it was firebombed.

I’ve been on this journey ever since. My first book, AMERICAN TAPESTRY, traces the journey of Mrs. Obama’s family from slavery to the White House. My latest book, THE 272, tells the story of the 272 men, women and children who were enslaved and sold to build the American Catholic Church.

In 2009, a (metaphorical!) lightning bolt hit me in a cemetery in Birmingham where I was searching for the grave of Mrs. Obama’s great-great grandfather. He was biracial and born into slavery. I spent days in the archives, poring over 19th century records, trying to find anything I could about him

Hello, Bluesky! Happy to introduce myself! I’m a longtime journalist for the New York Times, now a tenured professor at NYU and a contributing writer for the Times. These days, I focus on slavery and its contemporary legacies. I have to thank Michelle Obama for this unexpected pivot in my career.