 Why African-American studies? Why not study all people? Why separate African-Americans? It's a common dilemma among historians of the African-American experience. How do you tell the story of a people who have been apart from but an integral part of America? American history cannot be understood apart from the African-American experience. There's no distinct line between African-American culture and American mainstream culture. You can't have one without the other. We need to engage in civil discourse about race and racism in this country. How does the context of race inform where we came from and where we are today? We can only understand this by studying the economic, social, and political contexts of the lived experience of African-Americans in the past and in the present. Our history is multifaceted. Too often we emphasize the horrors of slavery, segregation, racism, disenfranchisement, and inequality at the expense of recognizing the resilience, creativity, courage, charismatic leadership, collective resistance, strength, faith, and perseverance that is woven into the African-American experience. We can't understand America without understanding the role of African-Americans.