Lanier initially assumed Agassiz’s racism had been inherited by his descendants.

Evidence

While blown away by this message, I was not sure how to respond. Louis Agassiz had such negative feelings about Black people, and so I assumed that feeling had been passed down through the generations. This note came as a surprise on so many levels. I was still reeling from the media interest in the case, and while the majority of the responses were overwhelmingly positive, I was still dismayed by any negative comments about my story in the press. While there were very few, I didn’t want to open myself up to the possibility of another attack. What if this was a troll? Yet something inside me said, Don’t hold her ancestor’s beliefs against her. See what she has to say. — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 867

Categorization

• QUESTION: This assumption — that racism transmits across generations like genes — is a claim worth interrogating alongside the genealogical reconstruction project that fills the book.