Roots of Division: Uncovering What Lies beneath America’s Racial Divide

Do you notice racial inequalities (in education, income, housing, incarcerations) and feel the related tensions (in politics, social media, church, friendships) and even know some of the history (supremacy, slavery, segregation) but struggle to grasp why race continues to divide America?

Curtis Chesney wrestled with that question for years. As a skeptic, he wanted concrete answers. And as a White man, he needed to face disturbing truths, including slavery on his ancestors’ farm–injustice committed by Chesney men. So he dug through the parallel histories of his family and his nation, uncovering roots of today’s racial division across several centuries of inequity in America. Chesney’s findings forever changed his perspective on our past, deepened his understanding of our present, and clarified his hopes for our future.

Written as a true story, Roots of Division journeys quickly through our nation’s past, addressing key events that help explain why race remains so divisive today. Readers will learn to recognize legacies of racial injustice in their own communities and will be encouraged to seek unity across racial dividing lines.

Table of Contents

Changing over Time Declaring Liberty for Some (1500-1776) Building a White Nation (1776-1850) Splintering in Two (1850-1860) Beginning Liberty for All (1860-1870s) Excluding Outsiders (1870-1900) Entrenching Bias (1900-1930) Segregating Threats (1930-1950) Conceding Civility (1950-1970) Drifting to Diversity (1970-2020) Coming Together (1970-2020) Staying Apart (2020) Moving Forward