{"product_id":"the-unseen-truth-when-race-changed-sight-in-america","title":"The Unseen Truth: When Race Changed Sight in America","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eAmerican Book Award Winner\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold a-text-italic\"\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e, 10 Best Books of the Year\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eThe award-winning art historian and founder of Vision \u0026amp; Justice uncovers a pivotal era in the story of race in the United States when Americans came to ignore the truth about the false foundations of the nation’s racial regime.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn a masterpiece of historical detective work, Sarah Lewis exposes one of the most damaging lies in American history. There was a time when Americans were confronted with the fictions that shored up the nation’s racial regime and learned to disregard them. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe surprising catalyst was the Caucasian War―the fight for independence in the Caucasus that coincided with the end of the US Civil War. Images from the Caucasus captivated Americans but also showed that the place from which we derive “Caucasian” for whiteness was not white at all. Cultural and political figures ranging from P. T. Barnum to Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Woodrow Wilson recognized these fictions, exploiting, unmasking, critiquing, or burying them. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTo acknowledge the falsehood at the core of racial order proved unthinkable, especially as Jim Crow took hold. Sight became a form of racial sculpture, vision a knife excising whatever did not serve the stability of racial hierarchy. That stability was shaped, crucially, by what Americans were conditioned not to see. Groundbreaking and profoundly resonant, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eThe Unseen Truth\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e shows how visual tactics have long secured our regime of racial hierarchy―and offers a way to begin to dismantle it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"a-section a-spacing-small a-padding-small\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSarah Lewis\u003c\/strong\u003e is the author and editor of over sixty publications, including \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eIf Emmett \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eTill Lived,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e the bestselling book \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Rise\u003c\/em\u003e,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and the award-winning volumes “Vision \u0026amp; Justice” and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eCarrie Mae Weems\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e She is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Infinity Award, the Freedom Scholar Award, and the American Book Award. Her writing has appeared in the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eNew Yorker,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eNew York Times, Artforum,\u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/em\u003eand the\u003cem\u003e \u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eNew York Review \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eof Books\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Lewis is the founder of Vision \u0026amp; Justice and currently John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Humanities and Associate Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"a-section a-spacing-small a-padding-small\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"a-section a-spacing-small a-padding-small\"\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"a-unordered-list a-nostyle a-vertical a-spacing-none detail-bullet-list\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eLanguage ‏ : ‎ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEnglish\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003ePrint length ‏ : ‎ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e400 pages\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eItem Weight ‏ : ‎ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e1.72 pounds\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eDimensions ‏ : ‎ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e5.87 x 1 x 8.94 inches\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"WWNorton","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50893344407791,"sku":null,"price":26.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0060\/8134\/7702\/files\/Screenshot_25-9-2026_125139_www.amazon.com.jpg?v=1790355116","url":"https:\/\/schomburgshop.com\/products\/the-unseen-truth-when-race-changed-sight-in-america","provider":"The Schomburg Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}