Mini-rant: Why keep telling the "same" stories?

I recently had occasion to discuss a newish novel about the African slave trade in the 1700s and how that terrible practice affected generations of both African people and the slaves that were brought to America. I liked the book, but not everyone in the group felt the same. In the discussion, it was remarked that we already knew the stories of slavery and what was the purpose of reading about it yet again?

I didn't know what to say to that in the moment because who wants to be the know it all in a friendly gathering? But what I thought to say later and will say here is that writing a novel and then finding a company willing to publish and support a novel (or any book, really) is political, and to keep publishing new stories about old topics, especially topics that reverberate in insidious ways and just won't be easily or peacefully resolved is an especially brave act of resistance. We all know that publishers want to make a profit; they choose what to produce with the bottom line in mind. So to put a lot of capital into a work written by a person of color who has done extensive research and created a book full of compelling characters that covers decades should be celebrated. Aside from the possible "learning" on the part of the reader, there's also the pleasure of interacting with a work of art that can't be overlooked.

I read all kinds of books and not all of them can carry the weight of history or the beauty of art. I accept that about myself. But if my reading choices have a positive effect on a publisher's willingness to sell books with historical and sociological meaning, I'm glad.