This is a word, a podcast from Slate. I'm your host, Jason Johnson. This month marks the

third anniversary of George Floyd's murder, and the third year of America's so-called racial

reckoning. And while the backlash in politics and academia has been strong, some say the fight

to tell the true history of America and race is just beginning. Yes, they are difficult stories,

but they are filled with extraordinary, visionary, courageous individuals who we carry with us.

Teaching the hard history of slavery and racism, coming up on a word with me, Jason Johnson. Stay with us.

Welcome to a word, a podcast about race, impolitex, and everything else. I'm your host, Jason Johnson.

The murder of George Floyd three years ago sparked what has been called the

reckoning, a re-examination of how institutional racism has shaped American history and our society

today. Well, we all see how that turned out. The backlash began almost immediately, with mostly

Republican political leaders labeling the accurate teaching of racial history as dangerous and

anti-patriotic. Books that acknowledge slavery, segregation, and Jim Crow are being targeted and

removed from school libraries. And educators who try to teach about this history are having their

jobs and sometimes they're very safety threatened. Beyond that, many of the racial reckoning efforts

at major institutions have seemed their funding and support cut. But one that's still going

strong is the hard history's project. At Baltimore's Johns Hopkins University, it's committed to

diving into the difficult history of slavery and race around that institution and the surrounding

community. The director of that project is Professor Martha Jones. She's a historian and a prolific

author of books, including her latest Vanguard, how black women broke barriers, won the vote, and

insisted on equality for all. Professor Martha Jones, it is an honor. Welcome to a word.

The honor is mine. Thank you for having me. First of all, I love the name. Hard history

project just sounds really, sounds really tough and exciting. What does the hard history project

...