I worry that the impulses driven by anti-intellectualism and anti-science play such a major part in shaping our political landscape today. - Jacqueline Jones

I am distressed that some people believe that enforced ignorance about our country’s past is a virtue. As historians, we aim to provide an accurate view of the past, even if that includes topics that are uncomfortable or upsetting to us now. Any effort to eliminate or ignore certain aspects of history does our students a disservice. The profits wrung from the labor of enslaved peoples helped to make the United States a prosperous nation — or rather, a prosperous nation for a few.

Q. Who are some of the most overlooked individuals or groups in U.S. history? A. People of modest means. Many of these families were resourceful and resilient. For a variety of reasons, no matter how hard they worked, they found it difficult to own their own land or homes. Their stories are inspiring, and also illuminating, as we are reminded of the vulnerability of certain groups of people, especially people of color, in accumulating assets over the generations. Discrimination in employment, housing, bank loans, education and health care are some of the factors that have affected these families. Many privileged Americans seem oblivious to these facts, and want to believe that merit alone is the deciding factor in whether or not individuals prosper. To a great extent today, we are our zip codes; in other words, where we live helps to determine access to quality public education, health care, and police and fire protection. Impoverished communities and families do not enjoy a “level playing field” in their striving for a better life.

I grew up in a village of 500 people in Delaware in the 1950s, and attended a segregated elementary school. At an early age I wondered why the black students who lived near my school did not attend it.