American history and the history of baseball are bound up together: our racial politics can be described and traced through it.

Black history is American history.

When I was in school, all our history books were American, so we learned American history, not Canadian history.

I don't want a Black History Month. Black history is American history.

There's so much in American history that has been hidden and shunned.

People are always shouting they want to create a better future. It's not true. The future is an apathetic void of no interest to anyone. The past is full of life, eager to irritate us, provoke and insult us, tempt us to destroy or repaint it. The only reason people want to be masters of the future is to change the past.