What is an American and does one’s relationship to the past shape its meaning?  Beginning with Britt Bennett’s fictional account in The Vanishing Half, we will discuss the complicated history of racial difference and American identity. Dr. Christopher  Fisher is our humanities scholar for this year’s 2021 One Book, One Cherry Hill series. He is Associate Professor of History at The College of New Jersey. Much of Dr. Fisher's research centers around the history of race in America, racial politics, social movements, identity, with a particular focus on African-American history and its unique place in American culture. In 2018, he co-authored Global America: The United States in the Twentieth Century. This work takes a sweeping look at the ways in which our changing approach to race, class, and gender have impacted American culture at home and abroad over the last century. Dr. Fisher serves as the current Vice-Chair of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities Executive Board, as well as a State Priorities Speaker for NJCH's Horizon Speakers Bureau.