This past weekend, a gunman who appears to have been motivated by white supremacy shot and killed ten people in Buffalo, New York, where he traveled to target the city’s Black community.

The tragic shooting is one of several disturbing massacres motivated by hate that have occurred in recent years. But the history of race based violence dates back to the beginning of what is now the United States, and some of the recent racially motivated attacks call to mind the racist violence that targeted Black communities in the early 20th century.

The Takeaway speaks with Jelani Cobb, historian, staff writer at The New Yorker and incoming dean at the Columbia Journalism School.