Malawi: The Dictatorship that Nobody Noticed...

Explore the enigmatic landscape of Malawi, overshadowed by its profound obscurity, yet harboring a legacy of totalitarian rule and natural wonders. Discover its stunning lake, vibrant wildlife, and the resilient spirit of its people. Join us on an eye-opening journey into the heart of this captivating nation!

[@paschal03]

Being a Malawian and a fan of Simon, I appreciate this video. Thank you sir. 🤍

[@PaulwatKulemeka]

I definitely learned alot

[@vsedai]

In a class in grad school we read a book on Malawi. I thought it was outrageous that their Constitution was written in English. And amazed that when they are working with some UN human right document. And there was a problem because Malawi did not have a word for torture, which is kinda cool.

[@tman700100]

As a Malawian and a big fan it’s wild hearing Simon talk about Malawi 😂 Thank you for the episode! We need more of the world to know us

[@zurielsss]

I am curious, as a Malawian whether you think life could have been better if you are still under British rule today? Given that self governance didn’t really seem great Just curious, nothing about being disrespectful😊

[@madalitsomzandu9221]

as a Malawian the answer is no. whatever our inadequacies may be we are people and wish only to live as people not beasts of burden

[@Talisguy]

@@zurielsss Considering that the British are a big part of the reason _why_ Malawi has had a rough time of it since gaining independence, I'm guessing no.

[@mustertherohirrim7315]

You'd be horrified if you were a TanZAnian..!!

[@METALFREAK03]

@@Talisguy only a sign of revisionism though. They were already delving into the people trade. We just did it better.

[@limbanikamanga7514]

Good narrative. But I think a key aspect of Malawian history that provides a nuanced understanding of the country and Banda himself has been left out - labor migration. To begin with, as you have acknowledged, Banda himself was a labor migrant. This is how he found himself in South Africa, in the first place. Labor migration predated official colonization of Malawi and has been a key survival & capital accumulation strategy in rural Malawi until today. Lacking meaningful industries to offer jobs to the growing populatin and dominated by struggling estates that could not match wages offered in estates in today's Zimbabwe or in the mines of South Africa, labor migration became a convenient means of ridding excess labor (able bodied young men who would be a threat to the regime). Not to mention the importance of remittances from the migrant labor to the government and households. In fact, at one point, remittances registered as the third source of foreign earnings for the country. This was true under the colonial government and under Banda. This explains (not justify) the "hypocrisy" of Banda in supporting apartheid South Africa instead of teaming up with his fellow "liberators" in the region. I think it was for practical reasons not for moral reasons. He couldn't risk pissing off the apartheid regime and have labor migrants expelled from the South African mines. Gradually, he tried to revitalize agriculture estates at home to limit labor migration (and to attract labor migrants to return home) but these never materialized. Until today, thousands of excess labor in Malawi continues to flock to South Africa. In fact, it can be argued that labor migrants in South Africa help more in improving living standards in rural Malawi than all NGOs put together. I look forward to the day, Malawians we will have this debate. Anyway, in short, you cannot talk of Malawi's history and current affairs without discussing the role of labor migration.

[@Prince_J_kankhwali]

This is so accurate, I guess we are not ready talk about this,the major export that directly effects ordinary Malawians is labour export.

[@CMRJD]

This sounds like a good opportunity to pursue your interests.

[@100HzJimmi]

I visited Lake Malawi, Nkhata bay and Nkhotakota and Lilongwe for a while in the early 90's and Its my Favourite country I have visited out of many. The Malawians were honestly the nicest most beautiful people I have had the pleasure of spending time with and I Really mean that. Its got Wonderful Flora and Fauna. If you plan a trip to Africa...make sure you visit Malawi...You wont regret it ;) ndibwera posachedwa x

[@michaelmwambyale6703]

Ndinu olandilidwa thawi zonse

[@jaytaylor629]

I have a sister who lives in Malawi. She loves living there so much and says the country is so much more beautiful than pictures can ever depict.

[@engineering9065]

The fact that Banda was born in the 19th century and ruled until the mid-90s is insane

[@sizanogreen9900]

I find it more insane that he as a dictator actually allowed the transition to democracy and died naturally afterwards. I mean that hardly ever happens. Normally you either die a dictator or get overthrown.

[@doscassette871]

@@sizanogreen9900 depends. Spain, Korea, Brazil and Japan are all examples where this actually did happen but normally it needs to be a dictatorship rooted in right wing militarism as they are more likely to honor the idea of transitioning based on a concept of military duty.

[@sizanogreen9900]

@@doscassette871 I didn't mean to say that it never happens. There are indeed other examples, but they are very rare.

[@Kaltagstar96]

@@doscassette871 I think Lee Kwuan Ye in Singapore (who's sometimes viewed as a Benevolent Dictator) also allowed a peaceful transition of power, didn't he?

[@AaronGeo]

He went on to live the SOVIET UNION COLLAPSING. He kinda reminds me of Pol Pot in Cambodia, for example, both dying naturally and in the 90's

[@anarchistarts725]

FINALLY, MY DREAM HAS COME TRUE. I'm a Malawian and ive been waiting for this episode on one of your channels for so long that i almost lost hope that it would drop. Thank you thank you ghank you!

[@michael195b]

Great video. I lived in Malawi 1994-2000 and loved it. Beautiful country, wonderful people and as a country it has so much potential but held back by politicians. Hopefully it will get the success it deserves.

[@tondekoddar7837]

There is one hero of the presidents... I wish there was some kind of crowdfunded... nah, working thing people could do to encourage such actions, even in the future ! I mean, it's often about one person, no matter the situation, to make few good choises that help many people and generations. I hope Simon got it right ! Really saying, everyone, let's make it better planet for everyone. Start with friend of yours, a smile a day, make note to your diary daily, what you did, to make the world a better place.

[@jkumwenda]

Comphrehensive research, A Malawian myself I certify this video to be a true reflection of the events highlited. Good Job Simon.

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

"I went to sleep dreaming of Malawi, and all the things made possible when your dreams are powered by your heart." William Kamkwamba

[@Kaltagstar96]

It really is weird, Banda seemed to start out as a decent man, then became a tyrannical, authoritarian despot that could rival his more infamous counterparts and then when his 3 decades in power was over, he just accepted it. I had no idea the inner workings of Malawi (I knew that it existed and that's about it) but this type of content is why Places rivals Into The Shadows and Warographics as my favourite channel in the Whistleverse.

[@johnchimbani8473]

Same thing with Mugabe and the list goes on…

[@skeetrix5577]

isnt there a saying that goes something like 'Power Corrupts, But Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely'? maybe Im a word or two out of place, but I know it was something along that premise. Honestly we're seeing that all over the world, even at home with all the allegations that Biden et al were crooked at a 3 dollar bill, shoveling money around from places like commie China and Ukraine, before Russia started a official shooting war with that nation even though they were technically fighting the Russians since 2014, the Russians just never came out and admitted it (see:Little Green Men) speaking of Russia, looking back at the year 2000 Putin could easily fall into the category of outward appearing to the Russian people as a Democrat who claimed to respect the rule of law and fight against corruption while at the same time rigging elections, killing opposition leaders and arresting activists who spoke out against him and his government, and held onto power by abusing a loophole in the Russian constitution that says you have to step down after two terms, which technically he did but then immediately became prime Minister and guess what role all the sudden became the one with most power? lol this world is screwed man

[@nathanlong8295]

Atleast he allowed democracy at the bitter end.

[@playnicechannel]

Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely ….. human nature?

[@FasterFaster196]

​@@playnicechannelYes. And malign influences of American and European ( white) power brokers.

[@leo.f.v.andersson]

This channel is amazing... probably in the top100 among Simons channels

[@jerrydeem8845]

200

[@zscout370]

does Simon even sleep?

[@itsROMPERS...]

At this point Simon basically _IS_ KZbin.

[@ScubaSteveCanada]

An amazing channel that uses technology to hide the use of copy written photographs. Yeah, that's amazing all right. Scummy move.

[@dannymaurice5543]

I love you Simon, but as a native of malawi, the way you are pronouncing Tanzania is making me homicidal

[@morkusmorkus6040]

As an Australian, I feel the same.

[@xKynOx]

I'm British and it sounds weird.

[@johnchimbani8473]

I concur

[@cjlind6436]

I find it very weird that Simon puts seemingly zero effort into ever improving his pronunciation of words he has to say a lot. He's called Kaliningrad "Kalingrad" like 2000 times, people correct him constantly, but he never changes it. Strange. I understand not stressing about words or names that come up a few times, but sometimes it's words that he says repeatedly in practically every other video. It's like if a software developer pronounced it McRosuft for years.

[@FrithonaHrududu02127]

Yeah I was wondering about that myself.

[@Kassano345]

As a Malawian and an OG Simon fan, this is amazing!

[@cantsay2205]

Over an hour long? That's how I know this will be good.

[@readisgooddewaterkant7890]

so true

[@Africanboss938]

Malawian here !!

[@StoneInMySandal]

I really like how the writer is calling out when he quoted directly from source material.

[@sizanogreen9900]

Some crazy dictator I've never heard of in a nation I have barely heard of? Sign me up!

[@sarahwisniewski6722]

It's so fascinating to learn about locations I am not that familiar with. Thank you

[@dustinkama377]

Being a Malawian and a big fan of your channel and by coincidence you posted it on Kamuzu Day

[@jimmycook842]

Malaian people are the kindliest and friendliest people in Africa.

[@frankmanjawira8232]

Malawian here, big fan of yours fact boy. IDK if its a coincidence or not but you posted this video on the 14th of May which just happens to be Kamuzu Banda day in Malawi.

[@jimmycricket5366]

😂🤣😂

[@amy8161]

I winced every time he said 'Nayasaland' instead of Nyasaland 😂😂😂😂😂😂 but still loved the video

[@educationlife9363]

Ndipo🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@mishealjuwa7370]

Malawians we follow you, interesting to hear your pronunciations

[@davidwright7193]

I was a teacher in a Malawian secondary school in the north with VSO in the late 90’s and the idiocy of Hastings Banda was still evident. For instance he objected to alcohol so we weren’t allowed to teach students about alcohol so I had to teach about a class of organic chemicals called the alconols (from methanol, ethanol, propanol, etc) otherwise known as the alcohols. Also despite being trained as a GP he classified anatomy textbooks as pornographic publications because they contained detailed pictures of human genitalia, you couldn’t get around that one.

[@lisathokozani]

Wow i never thought Simon would talk about my country Malawi😂😂😂😂

[@StewartGarson]

I was born there

[@ianfree5987]

Another outstanding piece of reportage/ documentary from Simon, the many unsung people behind him and his/ their many channels. Fantastically well done!

[@mikemudimba5531]

As a Zambian, it pains me daily that Malawi is a different country. Malawi and Zambia should have been one country with a population of 40+ million people, holding 80% of the fresh agricultural land in SADC, mining powerhouse, and tourism centre.

[@5801160052086]

That would have created an agricultural powerhouse❤

[@Face44445]

Some places that would be interesting to discuss on this channel: Azerbaijan Comoros Niue Wa State (strange Chinese vassal breakaway state inside Myanmar)

[@samsungtesz2193]

Forget about Seychelles Eritrea and Botswana 👌

[@Face44445]

@@samsungtesz2193 yeah, those are good additions to the list, I wasn't intending to make an exhaustive list

[@samsungtesz2193]

@@Face44445 I know about that he will cover every topic Simon wished for just less than a week I guess he's quietly busy right now.

[@leonardmvaya5156]

I'm from Malawi and I absolutely loved this video. The history of Malawi leading up to Kamuzus reign was explained very succinctly. I remember learning about it in school back in primary school and I found it to be very fascinating. I'm not sure if it's something that's still taught in primary schools nowadays though

[@tehfiredog]

I like to think that I'm pretty knowledgeable about things, but pretty much all of this was new to me! I'm impressed mostly that somehow they have had several opportunities to fall back into total bloody tyranny and have managed to avoid it each and every time. I hope they can keep it up!

[@alexlents4689]

Same! I am destructively obsessed with geopolitics, and I had never even heard of Banda before.

[@SteepSix]

If you're a bit stoned and wanna keep up... Just reduce the Playback Speed to 0.9%

[@5801160052086]

Its a racy presentation, but most english speakers should manage. I prefer this to a slow boring pace

[@Bosmang100]

Excellent video! Small correction: Banda died in Johannesburg, South Africa.

[@terahbonks8471]

The accuracy, depth and range of this video is mindblowing! Am literary in awe!

[@alexroberts9395]

I love you dearly, but PLEASE pronounce Tanzania correctly! Tan-Zah-NEE-Ah. Amazing video as always!

[@stevemonkey6666]

It is a very British thing to mispronounce names of countries....

[@100HzJimmi]

@@stevemonkey6666 No its just Simon pronouncing like a Yank again

[@davidbates874]

@@100HzJimmi AS a yank, we pronounce it Tan-Zah-NEE-Ah. So no, hes not pronouncing like a yank.

[@100HzJimmi]

Sorry I am out of Medals...Well done though...claps ;)

[@caeruleusvm7621]

@@davidbates874 In my experience, Yanks very often mispronounce names, but it seems to be a minority. With the British, on the other hand, mispronunciation seems to be taken as a sacred, patriotic duty.

[@storytime118]

I think the most important thing we can take from this is to be very careful electing leaders that show similar signs of evil. We must always defend democracy despite corruption. A government of one man is one of no men.

[@jimmycricket5366]

So true!

[@fumukumwenda9824]

As a Malawian, I have enjoyed this video.

[@Harveymw]

Being a Malawian and a big fan of this channel.... Thank you 🎉

[@tindalen5106]

I enjoyed and subscribed to all of your channels I knew of. My watching faded a year or to ago as my life changed radically. I have come back and found a new Simon and crew. A group that does not hold back from current problematic issues, and does not hold from calling them out. Cheers mate, I liked your content before, I have a deep respect for it now.

[@mrsir2254]

Much like other British protectorates* Also, as an Atlantian, I really appreciate how Simon educates the world about all of the various topics all his channels cover. Or; As a Tibetan, I wish Simon would cover Tibet on Places! Maybe; As a Ugandan, It'd be great if Simon could cover us and Idi Amin on this channel!

[@CrvrMb]

Love this channel, Simon. Definitely the favorite of the 87 you have. (jk I love them all equally 😉)

[@vvss9307]

This is such an interesting story. As a Russian, I find it very contrasting with the Russian history and present day. We do have an educated majority of population, quite developed industry, promising IT sector, and with around 2-5% of population having HIV we call it a disaster... But Malawi, at least in this description, seems to have something that we don't - hope for the future. It will probably be brutal to live through this decades of nation-building, and not like I'm planing to move there, but it somehow feels... the opposite of useless?

[@tondekoddar7837]

We're country neighbors... And countries don't agree. Only thing I know, not believing in any installations corporations or such, but just making nearby a better place for everyone to live in. It'll work long term.

[@icreatedanaccountforthis1852]

This was fascinating to watch. The end of his term was particularly interesting where he seemed to simply accept the facts.

[@jordansmith4040]

This was fascinating. I very much enjoyed this.

[@wildamerica-nj6jl]

AI depictions are the visual equivalent of auto tune...

[@archstanton6102]

In 2010 the country changed its flag and added white. Every state building, overseas embassy, all logos, business card etc had to be changed. 6 months later (roughly) they changed it back. An utter waste of money for an already impoverished nation.

[@John-dy5xk]

Talks too fast

[@archstanton6102]

@@John-dy5xk What does this have to do with the flag of Malawi

[@davidwright7193]

I remember the election of 1999. That week I was teaching of all things mechanics, using kinetic energy vs work to establish things like how far up hill a ball could roll. The local additional maths textbook that I was using was full of problems about how far bullets could penetrate brick walls. So the sounds of tear gas and rubber bullets being fired in the town marketplace made the whole experience surreal.

[@michaelmwasikakata3404]

Wow, the butchering of all these pronunciations is really jarring when it's your country

[@paulnamalomba194]

😂 when he said “mudzi” as madzi. But the video is very well researched and some of the pictures and details are just so eye-opening

[@kickedinthecalfbyacow7549]

Reading directly from Wikipedia

[@nicklager1666]

Spending a lot if time as a child looking at flags and enjoying geography in general i knew where this small country was located. Interesting content and i wouldnt mind future videos on either Brasilia capital of Brazil or Canberra in Australia.

[@deaths_comedians2847]

Thank god Simon is back only way to watch ❤😂

[@parksto]

The moving dotted grid on illustration give me retinal migraine 😵 Except this, thank you!

[@itsROMPERS...]

Me too! What a horribly misguided style!

[@finn6492]

Tanzania not Tanzia

[@giftsukali4678]

Great research there!.. good work!

[@Anywayyouneedto]

Jesus Christ how many channels do you have, Simon 😂? I’ve been a subscriber of a few for years and still keep coming across more!

[@archstanton6102]

He dropped 3 last year

[@Ehh.....]

He left the network that was geographics and biographics places and people are replacements basically.

[@Anywayyouneedto]

@@Ehh..... what? People are replacements? I’m so confused

[@Ehh.....]

@@Anywayyouneedto Hes doing his own versions of Geographics and Biographics since he no longer works on those channels.

[@maryrowe3981]

My mother had us write letters, as young children, in protest of the government’s repressive persecution of her chosen group. Quite horrifying introduction to dictatorial governments.

[@NelsonBoy2734]

Love the info as always.

[@jordanhopkins623]

malawi is the most phenomenal place i’ve been lucky enough to visit, i miss it there so so much

[@jordanhopkins623]

not even two minutes in and can see the cabin i stayed in on mumbo island 🤣🤣

[@wilburn135]

I literally can’t escape you how many channels do you have Jesus. I mean I like your content but god

[@theconqueringram5295]

Very interesting!

[@vardekpetrovic9716]

Malawi can have a very bright future, it has plenty of water, good arrable land and plenty of natural resources. One big looming problem is that half the population is below 14 so it has an explosive population growth. But it is a lovely country indeed.

[@godfreyberry1599]

Since Dr. Hastings Banda, a the highly educated and really outstanding peoples of this nation are experiencing extreme poverty and are eagerly sought in South Africa for their intrinsic honesty and excellent work ethic. Banda was the least corrupt of ANY African nation post independance.

[@jouflu_et_reluisant]

great vid this

[@misheckmzumala7894]

It's very sad that as a Malawian, some of these things I have actually learnt from this podcast.

[@extravaganzamulolo9449]

This is a Nice video on BANDA, Simon

[@alexkaburu2283]

Thank you for the TRUTH on exposing history as it is .Love your research and the channel.

[@krystalpennell]

I love your long videos 😊

[@s2Capacidade2s]

Fun fact: due to losing the territories between Angola and Mozambique (which include Malawi) to England, after the English did an ultimatum to the Portuguese crown, the Portuguese king was killed in 1908 and eventually the monarchy was abolished in 1910 and never came back in Portugal. Quite an interesting butterfly effect.

[@michaelcleary7065]

Enjoy these deep dive videos 👍 cheers factboi

[@noobkaka567]

Nice video

[@alexcane6458]

1:08:50 🎶Just move on up To a greater day With just a little faith, if you put your mind to it You can surely do it🎶

[@peteruko]

Great video and research…the HKB years

[@robertricketts5467]

Love all of your superb videos Simon, but it's Tanzan-EE-a. Thanks.

[@TheRadPlayer]

Well, this was clearly a ride. What a fascinating guy, that Hastings-Banda.

[@jasonclark5546]

Simon finishing this video with a Drake reference is hilarious, considering the current state of Drake in popular media 😂

[@felman87]

Places! Congrats on the 100k!

[@stefanavic6630]

I feel that the "Places" channel is poorly defined within the scheme of Simon's channels. The set is weird, and the profile camera shots are uncomfortable.

[@johnkad123]

This is a very interesting program. Never actually thought about Malawi that much. What a sad history but hopefully there is light at the end of the tunnel. Banda was a clown, just like many clowns in politics today. Thanks for the research btw.

[@Africanboss938]

Very comprehensive history and pronunciation is really really good too! Well done Simon ! Of course there are some inaccuracies in the research…but largely reflects our country…. One step forward two steps back pretty much describes Malawi. People are nostalgic about the Banda era… but I don’t think it is even a debate now that Malawians were better off under Kamuzu Banda except for a brief period When The first Mutharika was President and seemingly Malawi appeared to have been moving in the right direction…only to go back a few step backwards… total adoption of democracy perhaps in Africa was a mistake … there should have been a substantial period of transition… Kamuzu in hindsight had his faults but Malawi has so far totally failed to build on his foundation …

[@thomasdriggers759]

If you’ve ever played borderlands, Malawi is where the name Maliwan came from.

[@kharydickerson8298]

Zikomo Kwaheri for this video!

[@lonjezano]

Well-made

[@friendly_space_martian]

The dictatorship was actually the reason my grandfather ran to Zambia

[@evanblake5252]

Well... He was a horrible person overall, as is any violent dictator, but have to say, for a dictator, he was practically a saint.

[@aliliving7774]

Simon, i need to keep up with your channels to sub them all 😅😂 i have been missing this one til just now o.0

[@maxwilliams9523]

They are very distictive beret's, its a shame the ai depiction you chose for them doesnt look anything like the actual hat. There's plenty of colour photos of that hat online, was it really a better choice to use ai for that?

[@psnetdistribution]

How could you make a documentary about Malawi without mentioning their legendary landrace Malawi Gold Cannabis!?!

[@johnthefrogakakrazert819]

Malawi is famous amongst aquarium fish keepers. This is because of the wide variety of colorful fish malawi lake holds.

[@joebidet2050]

Yes Thought same

[@michaelmwasikakata3404]

Hmmmm.....will comment again when I finish it

[@vonnero1250]

Hearing you say 'Banda' so often is quite surreal. Foreign national living in Blantyre in the 1980's you had to call him 'H.E' for 'His Excellency'. The word 'Banda' wasn't to be used. Even had to remove the labels from the 'Banda' brand spirit copiers at the school.

[@mahniskel]

Did Simon just say “TanZAYnia”? Good work Factboi 😂

[@nickmiller8131]

Is “tan-za-nia” and “tan-zain-ia” just an American vs British pronunciation or is that just me?

[@catbevis1644]

English here. This is the second clip I've watched where I've been twitching at Simon's pronunciation of Tanzania. I usually say "don't criticise someone for mispronouncing a word- it means they learnt it by reading", but for some reason this one just grates on me lol. I just looked it up and tbh Google is a little vague saying that the locals pronounce it as you suggest, but then also admitting that some locals use Simon's version. Personally I've never heard Simon's version outside of his channels!

[@robinanna5531]

Nope Brits know how to pronounce Tanzania, he's just wrong. 🤷‍♀️😅😅

[@catbevis1644]

@@robinanna5531 Yep pretty sure Freddie Mercury is turning in his grave lol

[@wikyWargaming]

I do hope there's nothing in here that's going to make me not want to purchase Lake Malawi cichlids. Can't be having crimes against humanity in my fish tanks.

[@NikolasH937]

Same

[@Warlock8ZERO]

We need more Simon in the thumbnails and maybe some mentions on other channels, completely forgot this channel was apart of Simon's empire, so I didn't bother watching them. Least I can binge watch them all for awhile now haha.

[@paulnamalomba194]

Only now our people realise how bad his 30 years was, them rose-tinted windows have been shattered and now it’s us picking up the pieces.

[@giftsukali4678]

but he also achieved alot in his era.

[@shanesmith9309]

Amazing videos but please take it easy on the ai depicted images they not real images of the war or these people no matter how good the ai is I look at the image thinking wow what an amazing picture taken of history then see the ai depicted word in the corner then it’s not real kind of taking the magic out of the message thanks

[@antoniovaliente4477]

Yes!😊

[@thumpyloudfoot864]

Whoa, that dude in the thumbnail looks a lot like Papa Doc (François Duvalier).... So much so that I assumed it was him and was very much confused when you started talking about Malawi.... LOL

[@paxwallace8324]

Just last week KZbin star Itchy Boots Motorcycle vloger from the Netherlands spent about a week touring Malawi her people are poor but friendly and very helpful as her underpowered over loaded motorcycle got repeatedly stuck in mud. She's been traveling throughout Africa for months.

[@BrixtonTone]

Hitch Hiked through Malawi 50 years ago. In all my travels in Africa the people of Malawi were the most honest, welcoming and hospitable I ever met. P.S. Simon, repeat after me , Tan- Zan- Ia .

[@urhraka997c]

@Places302 Perhaps a clarification on the death of Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda. Malawi's former president Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda died in the evening of Tuesday on 25 November 1997 of pneumonia at South Africa's Garden City Clinic. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_and_state_funeral_of_Hastings_Banda) Great work on the documentary highlighting our nation's history nonetheless.