Inheritance

How Black America is shaping the nation

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This work was commissioned, produced, and edited by The Atlantic's editorial staff. Support for this work was provided in part by the organizations listed here.

Support for this project was provided by the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.

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The lynching of James Reed, in Crisfield, Maryland, on July 28, 1907, for the alleged murder of the police officer John H. Daugherty. This image was modified for The Atlantic by the artist Ken Gonzales-Day, whose technique, as showcased in his "Erased Lynchings" project, is to digitally remove the victim from historical photographs of lynchings. By erasing the victims’ bodies, Gonzales-Day pushes the viewer to focus on the crowd and, by proxy, the racism and bias that were foundational to these acts of violence.
Digital alteration by Ken Gonzales-Day for The Atlantic. Source: Crisfield Times.

Now We Know Their Names

In Maryland, a memorial for two lynching victims reveals how America is grappling with its history of racial terror.

Clint Smith
Children in Harlem, New York, in the 1970s
Jack Garofalo / Paris Match / Getty

What the Body Holds

The third chapter of “Inheritance” is a recognition, a celebration, and a reclamation of the Black body.

Gillian B. White
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