Family Names
Learn how filmmaker Macky Alston learned about the history of his family name and its connection to his family's legacy in the United States.
![Bayeté Ross Smith’s 2010 series "Our Kind of People" examines how clothing, ethnicity, and gender influence our ideas about identity, personality, and character.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2010_OurKindofPeoplecombined_FH2170284.jpg?h=52649bae&itok=_jsHfuii)
Family Names
In Spanish, learn how filmmaker Macky Alston learned about the history of his family name and its connection to his family's legacy in the United States.
![Bayeté Ross Smith’s 2010 series "Our Kind of People" examines how clothing, ethnicity, and gender influence our ideas about identity, personality, and character.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2010_OurKindofPeoplecombined_FH2170284.jpg?h=52649bae&itok=_jsHfuii)
A Strength of My Neighborhood
A high school student describes how his neighborhood in Los Angeles helps him feel connected to the traditions of his family’s “old world” heritage in Mexico.
![Female student learning in a classroom.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2015_AD9A0664_FH221025.jpg?h=59f9d53c&itok=m4cVPcs7)
A Strength of My Neighborhood
In Spanish, a high school student describes how his neighborhood in Los Angeles helps him feel connected to the traditions of his family’s “old world” heritage in Mexico.
![Female student learning in a classroom.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2015_AD9A0664_FH221025.jpg?h=59f9d53c&itok=m4cVPcs7)
Mendez v. Westminster
Learn about the Mendez family's experience as Mexican Americans fighting against school segregation in Southern California during the 1940s.
![A close up of a student writing on a piece of paper.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/LosAngeles_ClassroomImage_2012_FH116207.jpg?h=9a556404&itok=SXiHI4Fc)
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)