Explanation:
Reconstruction: America After the Civil War” airs April 9 and 16 at 8 p.m. on Arizona PBS. The documentary takes a broad view of the Reconstruction era and its aftermath, beginning with the hopeful moment of the Civil War’s conclusion in 1865 through 1915, when the nation was fully entrenched in Jim Crow segregation. In the aftermath of the deadly and destructive Civil War, Congress endeavored to reunite North and South while granting citizenship rights to newly freed African Americans. Millions of former slaves and free black people sought out their rightful place as equal citizens under the law.
“Reconstruction is one of the most important and consequential chapters in American history,” Gates said. “It is also among the most overlooked, misunderstood and misrepresented. Our film will tell the real story of Reconstruction, honoring the struggle of the African Americans who fought their way out of slavery and challenged the nation to live up to the founding ideals of democracy, freedom and equality. But we will also tell the tragic story of the sustained and often violent pushback against Reconstruction’s determination to secure equal rights for black people and the subsequent rise of white supremacy leading to the implementation of Jim Crow segregation. More than 150 years later, this struggle continues.”
The first half of the documentary centers on the pivotal decade following the Civil War rebellion, charting black progress and highlighting the accomplishments of the many political leaders who emerged to usher their communities into this new era of freedom. The second half traces the unraveling of Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow segregation in the closing years of the 19th century. It looks at myriad ways in which black people continued to acquire land, build institutions and strengthen communities amidst increasing racial violence and repression. It also explores the flowering of African American art, music, literature and culture as tools of resistance in the struggle against Jim Crow racism.
The documentary features a wide array of historical and sociological experts, along with authors, including:
David W. Blight, Ph.D.: professor of American history and director of Gilder Lehrman Center at Yale University
mericans. But even facing both physical and psychological oppression, African Americans found ways to fight back
