“Bernard and Shirley Kinsey’s quest to find and save artifacts from centuries of black achievement and resilience should be an inspiration to us all. Rethinking America’s Past highlights and advances the voices of the Kinseys and their inspiring collection, remembering all that has gone wrong in society and how powerfully people of strength, decency and goodwill can prevail."
— Douglas A. Blackmon, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Slavery by Another Name
“The Kinsey collection is proof that African American history is documented through multiple mediums. We must recognize the significance and reality that African American history is American history. Direct engagement with this collection in Rethinking America’s Past changes the narrative and no longer allows these contribution to be hidden.”
— Jacqueline K. Dace, Deputy Directorm National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
“A valuable book that reminds us that ‘the archive’ of African American history and art can be credited significantly to black collectors who believed in saving, assembling, and framing the archive in a truthful way. Rethinking America’s Past investigates the responsibility that African American artists felt in representing and interpreting black history and experience, in times when the ‘mainstream’ history profession generally fell far short.”
— James Smethurst, W.E.B. DuBois Department of Afri-American Studies, University of Massachusetts-Amherst; author of The African American Roots of Modernism
“Rethinking America’s Past beckons us to reconsider not only the facts of American history, but what it means to build a future of freedom and belonging. The Kinseys’ remarkable collection opens our eyes to a more complex, vibrant, and beautiful portrait of African-American life – and compels us to see ourselves in the stories of the artwork and artifacts.”
— Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles
“[Rethinking America’s Past] is a truly enjoyable read and a tremendous intervention in African American Studies scholarship. Picture students and general readers alike exploring these artifacts and documents, seeing people like themselves and their families in a history book. I am always grateful to historians who increase access to important materials.”
— Kathryn Barrett-Gaines, African and African American History, University of Maryland Eastern Shore