One of the nation's most accomplished historians unravels the stories of three extraordinary families from different eras in American history to represent the complexity of race in America, and to force readers to rethink assumptions about race, racism, and civil rights.

Gibson : Mars Bluff, South Carolina, 1768 -- Wall : Rockingham, North Carolina, 1838 -- Spencer : Clay County, Kentucky, 1848 -- Gibson : New Haven, Connecticut, 1850-55 -- Spencer : Jordan Gap, Johnson County Kentucky, 1855 -- Wall : September 1858, Oberlin, Ohio -- Civil War : Wall, Gibson, and Spencer -- Civil War : Wall & Gibson -- Gibson : February 2, 1866 -- Wall : Washington, D.C., June 14, 1871 -- Spencer : Jordan Gap, Johnson County, Kentucky, 1870s -- Gibson : Washington, D.C., 1878 -- Wall : Washington, D.C., January 21, 1880 -- Gibson : Washington, New Orleans, and Hot Springs, Arkansas, 1888-92 -- Wall : Washington, D.C., 1890-91 -- Spencer : Jordan Gap, Spring 1900 -- Wall : Washington, D.C., 1909 -- Spencer : Home Creek, Buchanan County, Virginia 1912 -- Gibson : Paris, 1931 -- Wall : Freeport, Long Island, 1946.