Klansmen Broke My Door Open
This reading contains the testimony of a victim of Ku Klux Klan violence.
Klansmen Broke My Door Open (en español)
In Spanish, this reading contains the testimony of a victim of Ku Klux Klan violence.
Letter from Jourdon Anderson: A Freedman Writes His Former Master
Jourdon Anderson, a formerly enslaved person, responds to a request from his former master to return to work for him.
Letter from Jourdon Anderson: A Freedman Writes His Former Master (en español)
In Spanish, Jourdon Anderson, a formerly enslaved person, responds to a request from his former master to return to work for him.
A Lifeline for Democracy
In her 2005 commencement speech at the University of Vermont, Ruth Simmons describes experiences that helped her escape the poverty and discrimination of her youth to become the president of Brown University.
Louisiana White League Platform (1874)
The White League was a paramilitary group responsible for widespread violence against black and white Republicans in Louisiana and Mississippi. The group’s platform from 1874 is articulated here.
Names and Freedom
Historians Douglas Egerton and Leon Litwack explain the process of freedpeople adopting new surnames.
Names and Freedom (en español)
In Spanish, historians Douglas Egerton and Leon Litwack explain the process of freedpeople adopting new surnames.
Transcript of Shane Koyczan's TED Talk
Read poet Shane Koyczan's powerful spoken word poem about bullying, “To This Day."
A Nucleus of Ordinary Men
Consider the role that secrecy and fear play in mob violence with W. E. B. Du Bois’ analysis of the Ku Klux Klan’s power.
A Nucleus of Ordinary Men (en español)
In Spanish, consider the role that secrecy and fear play in mob violence with W. E. B. Du Bois’ analysis of the Ku Klux Klan’s power.