Creating a New Narrative
This speech delivered at the dedication of the Lynching of Ell Persons Historical Marker is a powerful reflection on the creation of new historical symbols.
Segregation: The Inner Conflict in the South
Southerners discuss segregation after the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case.
![Nettie Hunt and her daughter Nickie sit on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/1954_SupremeCourtSegregationisUnconstitutional_FH222.jpg?h=a31ffb6c&itok=nmx_t-WM)
We Need to Talk About an Injustice
Read an excerpt from lawyer Bryan Stevenson’s inspiring TED Talk about the need to talk and teach about history to overcome injustice.
![Bryan Stevenson speaking at the 3.18.15 Chicago Community Conversation.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2015_BryanStevenson_FH138115.jpg?h=fc9cef4c&itok=QUtJG_IF)
We Wear The Mask
In this poem, Paul Laurence Dunbar reflects on the experience of African Americans in post-Civil War America and the universal human behavior of hiding an aspect of ourselves.
![A 1903 portrait of Paul Laurence Dunbar](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/1903_PaulLaurenceDunbar_FH2170282.png?h=0f940c21&itok=Mb-aVk5I)
Excerpt from Mississippi Black Codes (1865)
The Mississippi Black Codes attempt to codify expectations of freedpeople around topics such as intermarriage and labor laws.
![Book cover of American flag with faces over it.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Reconstruction_cover_large.jpg?h=51bee232&itok=yY8xN3AK)
Mississippi Black Codes (1865) (en español)
In Spanish, the Mississippi Black Codes attempt to codify expectations of freedpeople around topics such as intermarriage and labor laws.
![Book cover of American flag with faces over it.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Reconstruction_cover_large.jpg?h=51bee232&itok=yY8xN3AK)
South Carolina "Red Shirts" Battle Plan (1876)
Read an excerpt of the battle plan developed by the “Red Shirts,” a Democratic Party paramilitary group that emerged in South Carolina in the late 19th century.
![Book cover of American flag with faces over it.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Reconstruction_cover_large.jpg?h=51bee232&itok=yY8xN3AK)
South Carolina “Red Shirts” Battle Plan (1876) (en español)
In Spanish, read an excerpt of the battle plan developed by the “Red Shirts,” a Democratic Party paramilitary group that emerged in South Carolina in the late 19th century.
![Book cover of American flag with faces over it.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Reconstruction_cover_large.jpg?h=51bee232&itok=yY8xN3AK)
A Teacher Describes Violence and Intimidation (1875)
J. L. Edmonds, an African American schoolteacher, gave this account of the murder and intimidation before the 1875 election in Clay County, Mississippi.
![Book cover of American flag with faces over it.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Reconstruction_cover_large.jpg?h=51bee232&itok=yY8xN3AK)