"In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage - to know who we are and where we have come from. Without this enriching knowledge there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life there is still a vacuum. An emptiness, and the most disquieting loneliness." 
Alex Haley

History isn't always admirable. Sometimes its value lies in confronting uncomfortable truths rather than hiding them.