John Garrison Marks

John Garrison Marks is a historian and writer exploring the United States' histories of race, slavery, and public memory. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, TIME, Smithsonian Magazine, and elsewhere. His first book, Black Freedom in the Age of Slavery, tells the story of the efforts of free people of color to improve their lives, communities, and challenge racial restrictions in the Atlantic World. He earned his Ph.D. in history from Rice University in 2016. He is currently writing a new book exploring how generations of Americans have made sense of slavery's place in George Washington's legacy.