The past shapes the present. But there are aspects of the American past – so-called Hard History – that we refuse to engage with honestly because we are afraid of what will be revealed about who we were and who we are as a nation. This talk explores why confronting Hard History is so difficult and yet so necessary. It also explains how to face the most difficult elements of our past head-on. Less concerned about repeating historical phenomena that produced racial inequality and more concerned about allowing these phenomena to continue, historian Hasan Kwame Jeffries studies the African American past in order to make a more equitable American present. 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