In 2002, visitors standing in line to see the Liberty Bell literally stepped over the space where George Washington housed his slaves. The battle over what to do with the site of the first presidential house — where the birth of the nation shares exactly the same spot with the shame of the nation — raged for eight years. Temple historian Seth Bruggeman says the story of race in America is a mishmash of privilege, class and wealth, not a standoff between white master and black slave. "We know that the history of race relations is really one that unfolds on a spectrum of relative freedoms. To limit our conversation to black-white, slave-free dichotomy is really limiting, I think, and it's not accurate."