How does a lie get passed on? How do we fix it? And how do we create a more truthful narrative?

Hi there. I am a white woman with a Tennessee heritage that goes back generations. I grew up with stories of my famous ancestor—Adelicia Acklen—who was the belle of Nashville and one of the richest women in the antebellum south. She was beautiful, charismatic and wily. Novels have been written about her. Streets still bear her name.

What my family never talked about was how she got the wealth. I grew up enamored with her story and the status it conferred on me. My very own Scarlett O’Hara! I grew up in a culture infused with the myths about white superiority, and how slavery wasn’t so bad.

I was never interested in history beyond the romantic stories. But curiosity and the empathy I developed eventually led me to the truth about how Adelicia got so rich. You’ve probably guessed it. Slavery. But there’s more, and it took me years to uncover it all. Along the way I learned a different way to understand our past and the people who got us to where we are today. Inspiring stories of courage and resilience. We call them upstanders.

And then my questions became, how does this lie of omission start and why? And now that I know, what am I going to do about it? And how can I get others to join me?