The recounting of national histories is never separate from present-day politics. What of the past is remembered, celebrated, and mourned is at the core of national identity—and the process of what is told and not told is often a function of power.
-- Jeanne Theoharis (Narrator) (Preface)

Importance: The quote demonstrates the power of a national narrative of the past to shape our collective understanding of the present. It speaks to the fact that the past and present cannot be divorced from one another as the past inherently informs the present. This quote also introduces the idea of a historical narrative as resulting from existing power structures. Those who write and reinforce our national narratives have the power to shape the public consciousness. Furthermore, they likely are already beginning from a position of power because that is how they became able to shape that narrative in the first place. The connection between power and the...