This Thanksgiving, Remember Historical Suffering

Like clockwork, my social media accounts are slowly being populated with posts about the true origins of Thanksgiving or the need to declare the fourth Thursday in November a day of mourning in solidarity with the Wampanoag, the Native American nation central to the Thanksgiving myth. My social media network is largely composed of childhood friends, former classmates, and fellow academics. This annual ritual of Thanksgiving counter-protest eventually gives way to a divide between those sharing favorite holiday recipes and those who say Americans (particularly Black folks) need to "wake up" and see the truth about Thanks-killing (as they choose to dub the holiday).