We Refuse to Forget: A True Story of Black Creeks, American Identity, and Power

Book cover of We Refuse to Forget: A True Story of Black Creeks, American Identity, and Power by Caleb Gayleby Caleb Gayle
@GayleCaleb

“An important part of American history told with a clear-eyed and forceful brilliance.” —National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson

“We Refuse to Forget reminds readers, on damn near every page, that we are collectively experiencing a brilliance we’ve seldom seen or imagined…We Refuse to Forget is a new standard in book-making.” —Kiese Laymon, author of the bestselling Heavy: An American Memoir

A landmark work of untold American history that reshapes our understanding of identity, race, and belonging



In We Refuse to Forget, award-winning journalist Caleb Gayle tells the extraordinary story of the Creek Nation, a Native tribe that two centuries ago both owned slaves and accepted Black people as full citizens. Thanks to the efforts of Creek leaders like Cow Tom, a Black Creek citizen who rose to become chief, the U.S. government recognized Creek citizenship in 1866 for its Black members. Yet this equality was shredded in the 1970s when tribal leaders revoked the citizenship of Black Creeks, even those who could trace their history back generations—even to Cow Tom himself.

Why did this happen? How was the U.S. government involved? And what are Cow Tom’s descendants and other Black Creeks doing to regain their citizenship? These are some of the questions that Gayle explores in this provocative examination of racial and ethnic identity. By delving into the history and interviewing Black Creeks who are fighting to have their citizenship reinstated, he lays bare the racism and greed at the heart of this story. We Refuse to Forget is an eye-opening account that challenges our preconceptions of identity as it shines new light on the long shadows of white supremacy and marginalization that continue to hamper progress for Black Americans.

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Interview with the Author

Podcast art for Poured Over from Barnes & NoblePoured Over 
Caleb Gayle on WE REFUSE TO FORGET: A TRUE STORY OF BLACK CREEKS, AMERICAN IDENTITY, AND POWER
7/12/22           46 min

Podcast art for The Extreme History Project: The Dirt on the PastThe Dirt on the Past 
We Refuse to Forget with Caleb Gayle
6/14/22              53 min

Podcast art for The Stacks PodcastThe Stacks 
Ep. 223 Our Existence as Protest with Caleb Gayle
7/13/22           60 min

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