The Unseen Truth: When Race Changed Sight in America

Was America's racial divide built on a lie?

In her new book, The Unseen Truth: When Race Changed Sight in America, Sarah Lewis, founder of Vision & Justice, uncovers the pivotal moment when Americans came to ignore the truth about the false foundations of the nation’s racial regime. The surprising catalyst occurred in the nineteenth century when the Caucasian War—the fight for independence in the Caucasus that coincided with the end of the U.S. Civil War—revealed the instability of the entire regime of racial domination. In a masterpiece of historical detective work, Lewis exposes one of the most damaging lies in American history.

Book Tour

Sept. 2024

Sept 9 at 5 p.m. ET: Ford Foundation, Ideas at Ford: Sarah Lewis, Sherrilyn Ifill, and Darren Walker

Sept 16 at 6 p.m. ET: Harvard Book Store & Cambridge Public Library, In Conversation: Sarah Lewis and Imani Perry

Sept 23 at 8 p.m. ET: Harvardwood, In Conversation: Sarah Lewis and Franklin Leonard

Sept 25 at 7 p.m. ET: Politics & Prose, In Conversation: Sarah Lewis and Ibram X. Kendi

Oct. 2024

Oct 2 at 5:30 p.m. ET: MoMA, Forum on Contemporary Photography: Democracy, Race, and the Power of Images

Oct 17 at 7 p.m. ET: Library Company of Philadelphia, In Conversation: Sarah Lewis, Jim Downs, and Huey Copeland

Oct 26 at 2:45 p.mp ET: Boston Book Festival, Panel Discussion with Thulani Davis, Eddie Glaude, Kellie Carter Jackson, and Sarah Lewis, moderated by Noelle Trent

Oct 30 at 7 p.m. ET: Brooklyn Public Library, In Conversation: Sarah Lewis and Jacqueline Woodson

Nov. 2024

Nov 12 at at 7 p.m. CDT: First Light Books, In Conversation: Sarah Lewis and Casey Gerald

Nov 16 at 3 p.m. ET: Clark Art Institute

Early Press

Kirkus Reviews, “A fresh, authoritative historical inquiry”

Town & Country, “The 60 Must-Read Books of Fall 2024”

New York Times, “Suzanne Nossel Is Heartened by ‘Liberalism as a Way of Life’”

Publisher’s Weekly, “Fall 2024 Adult Preview: History”

Next Big Idea Club, “September 2024 Must-Read Books”

The.Ink, “Learning not to see”