The Era of Reconstruction was the period following the end of slavery where a wealth of possibilities arose as the United States was learning how to be a country without slavery. For freed Black Americans, this was a blue-sky period where our hard work was for our own benefit for one of the only times in American history. During this time we saw Black Americans become politicians, business owners, philanthropists, and community organizers and use our boundless talents to build the world that we wanted to live in. Before the White Supremacist institution had a chance to catch up with the times, we were able to see a glimpse at what could be accomplished when the institutional oppression that we see in the present day was fully congealed across every aspect of American life.

If there is anyone who has asked themselves, “why don’t Black people just…?” I would challenge them to type that thing into Google along with “Reconstruction” to see what they find and learn what it is Black folks did during this time. If it is there, just remember that we did not tear our institutions down ourselves.