The blood-soaked heritage of America’s enslavement of an estimated 10 million Africans is a fact. Yet some Americans refuse to recognize or openly discuss the communal inherited pain, shame and anger linked to that history.

But conversations about this fraught history are happening, according to author and journalist Michele Norris' latest book, “Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity.”

Norris describes the real-life anecdotes from Americans in her book as "like you're just walking through America and hearing people speaking out loud about the things that they only usually only talk about in private."

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Michele Norris, author, journalist for The Washington Post, host and executive producer of the podcast, "Your Mama's Kitchen," and former co-host of NPR's "All Things Considered"