What Is Chelsea Manning Thankful For?

Chelsea Manning has told Time magazine that she is thankful for others who question long-held, often uncontested narratives of history like the story behind the first Thanksgiving.

Manning, a former Army private who is serving a 35-year prison sentence at Fort Leavenworth for leaking government documents to Wikileaks, also said she is thankful for people like Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Harvey Milk for their work to challenge the status quo.

"I'm usually hesitant to celebrate Thanksgiving Day," she said. "After all, the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony systematically terrorized and slaughtered the very same Pequot tribe that assisted the first English refugees to arrive at Plymouth Rock. So, perhaps ironically, I'm thankful that I know that, and I'm also thankful that there are people who seek out, and usually find, such truths."