"A Very Living Past"

Near Lexington, Kentucky, fifth- and sixth-generation descendants of slaves live in small villages founded by their ancestors. one photographer is working to preserve these hamlets on film.

"Breaking the Ice"

With little fanfare, Willie O'Ree, a black player from a small Canadian coal- mining town, crossed the National Hockey League's color line-against even steeper odds than anyone knew at the time.

A trip to the mountains of northeastern France reveals towns rich with stories about brave citizens who fought to abolish slavery in that country's colonies nearly 200 years ago. Why did these people, some of whom had never even seen a black man, do it?