Two powerful, and badly neglected, forces in our national history around race are featured in Educated for Freedom: The Incredible Story of Two Fugitive Schoolboys Who Grew Up To Change a Nation by author & educator Anna Mae Duane. The 1800's debate between two students of the NY African Free School, James McCune Smith & Henry Highland Garnet, echoes to current issues.

Eric Foner is one of the preeminent US historians, particularly for the period of the 1800s involving slavery, the Civil War, & Reconstruction. His latest book is Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad, which follows The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln & American Slavery.