The truth of the man is somewhere in between these definitions, as Goodwin and the experts she calls upon illustrate in "Abraham Lincoln," former president Barack Obama among them. Progressives return fire by pointing to writings in which he declared African Americans to be unequal to whites, and his proposed plan to resettle emancipated Black people to Central and South American colonies. Republicans reflexively remind people that Lincoln was one of theirs, citing his reputation as the Great Liberator whenever they deny their party's devotion to racist campaign tactics and legislative policies. Understanding this in the context of this documentary series is crucial, since partisans have battled to claim Lincoln's legacy for decades, long before the ginned-up hysteria over "critical race theory" came into being. And this bolsters the efforts to cement structural inequality in place. This would effectively erase, rewrite or downplay the most significant contributions by figures who aren't white, straight or Christian from school texts even more than they already have been. Her latest, the seven-and-a-half hour "Abraham Lincoln," arrives on basic cable in the midst of a(nother) ridiculous push in multiple states to ban books and legislate "uncomfortable" historical accounts out of our educational system. Presidential historian and best-selling author Doris Kearns Goodwin has a knack for bringing her History miniseries to air when they're most acutely needed.
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