An East Coast transplant to Southern California, Jenny Watts stumbled on a dark family secret that had been hiding in plain sight. This revelation launched her on a journey in which she grapples with the intersections of generational privilege and the harsh truths of the American past. Jenny Watts is Curator of Photography and Visual Culture at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. She oversees a collection of approximately one million images that date from the beginning of photography to the present day. She has written and edited acclaimed works on photography and visual culture, and her exhibitions have explored such topics as architectural photography, death in the Civil War, and the imagery of Los Angeles. She is also active in several organizations committed to racial justice and racial reconciliation, and she enjoys art (and art making!) in her spare hours. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx