Garnell Morgan, in “Vanished Cities: The Forgotten Black Towns of America,” breathes life into stories of such thriving black communities brutally erased from American history. There is the recalling of towns such as Greenwood, Oklahoma, or Rosewood, Florida—all symbols of black resilience and pride in self-reliance and cultural heritage. Such vibrant towns’ portraits painted for boom-time economies, intact and thriving family structures, and subsequently built dreams all lie in the aftermath of slavery. However, such hopes were brutally suppressed—and more often than not, at the hands of white mobs, state violence, and economic sabotage. It infuses forgotten histories with the most alive stuff. Morgan doesn’t just narrate the devastation; he centers the defiance and drive that defined these communities. Furthermore, he incorporates historical tragedies back into the present ones, primarily asking readers to think about how historical violence has been molding racial inequality up to the present day. Whether the entrepreneurial spirit of Greenwood’s “Black Wall Street” or the collective strength of Rosewood’s residents, these towns represented the pinnacle of Black empowerment. Their success, however, provoked a deadly backlash, culminating in massacres that left communities in ruins.