Series on slavery deftly demystifies a complex issue

The four installments provide good balance and nuance while keeping the story moving in a clear fashion Sunday, February 06, 2005 MARTY HUGHLEY S lavery was bad. That seems so obvious a point, one so widely accepted among the people of the world today, that to think it needs reiterating is nearly comic. But it isn't enough for us to know that there was injustice and brutality at the heart of slavery. To have a real understanding of America -- its history and its values, its economic growth and social order -- it's important to know more about slavery in America and its development and dimensions. In the words of James Oliver Horton, a professor at George Washington University, "Slavery was no side show in American history -- it was the main event." Horton is one of more than two dozen respected scholars weighing in on that main event in "Slavery and the Making of America," a four-part PBS series. Full Story: http://www.oregonlive.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/entertainment/1107521919244970.xml