At the 2017 S-USIH conference in Dallas, after the wonderful plenary by Annette Gordon-Reed, in the Q&A session I infamously asked—after a preface wherein I thanked her for retelling the story behind her research and work on the Hemings family—something like the following: Do you have anything special you would like to say to this particular group of intellectual historians? There was a pause as Gordon-Reed pondered my question. As she reflected, a few of my colleagues, seated nearby, snickered. They thought I had asked the proverbial, adult beverage-induced dumb question. I realize now that I neglected, in asking, to Read more