James DeWolf Perry is the executive director of the Tracing Center on Histories and Legacies of Slavery, for which he speaks and facilitates discussions about the nation’s legacy of slavery and race. He was nominated for an Emmy award for his role as the principal historical consultant for Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North, the 2008 PBS documentary about the legacy of the North’s role in slavery and the slave trade, and in which he also appears as a descendant of the leading slave trader in U.S. history.