The truth is that the people of Galina had no idea what they were witnessing, but with that ignorance they crutched their way over to something, a necessary something that justified a shared moment in a time that was otherwise completely inexplicable a tiger that seemed to come from nowhere, a valiant but dead blacksmith, a vanished butcher, a war delayed by the weather.

NEWYORKER: The Tiger��s Wife

Holder's broader point is that black history is American history, and that we do further injustice to the unduly neglected contributions of our black citizens to the common good if we continue to revel in historical ignorance or avoid addressing the racial trauma that makes the study of black history necessary.

CNN: Commentary: Holder wants to tear down wall of race