Most of us learned our American history as a parade of good things with a few bad things interspersed. Today we are learning that American history is also the story of a lot of very bad things and, even worse, that these bad things are a fundamental and continuing part of the story. Knowing the good and bad is a tool for making the next chapters of our story ones we can be proud of.

Mike Franch was an affiliated minister at the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore after serving as Leader (minister) of the Baltimore Ethical Society for nine years. In 2007 he retired from his day job as health policy analyst in the Medicaid Program of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Mike earned his Ph.D. in history at the University of Maryland. His articles on Baltimore history have appeared in the Maryland Historical Magazine, The Sun Magazine, and in the book, Maryland: Unity in Diversity. He also speaks on historical and cultural issues for the Maryland Humanities Council and is active in the Baltimore Folk Music Society