This is from a commencement address by Toni Morrison. I think it's a powerful statement of the potential of the past to change and liberate us: "The past is already changing as it is being reexamined, as it is being listened to for deeper resonances. Actually it can be more liberating than any imagined future if you are willing to identify its evasions, its distortions, its lies, and are willing to unleash its secrets."